Tough Nut to Crack
by TennantBird
Summary: Starri, a bubbly, cheerful girl, comes to Waffle Island for the first time and meets Gill, who is initially annoyed by her and friendly personality. In an effort to simply befriend him, she not only attracts more boys, but falls in love with Gill.
1. Chapter 1

Gazing across the endless blue ocean, I inhaled the salty sea air. A ways away a fish jumped high in the air, and a thrill of excitement coursed through me. Not because of the fish, though. I was on my way to Waffle Island, where I would be living for the rest of my life.

"Wow, Pascal, I think I can see why you like sailing so much!" I exclaimed in delight. A wave hit the bow of the old fishing boat and I received a spray of water in the face. Laughing, I wiped the seawater from my cheeks and short pink dress, then re-tucked my short yellow-blonde hair behind my ears again. My purple eyes scanned the horizon and found a mass of land just starting to appear. My heart started beating faster as I realized that must have been our destination.

"I'm glad you like it so much, Starri," the old sailor said with a kind chuckle.

I beamed and pointed to the splotch in the distance. "Is that Waffle Island?"

Pascal came to stand beside me. "It sure is. We should get there within the hour."

I couldn't help a small jump of glee. My companion looked at me. "I thought you liked sailing?"

"Well, yeah, I really do!" I said, feeling flustered. "It's just that I've been waiting to get there for a while now..." I trailed off as I realized that he had been joking; an amused smile lit his wrinkled face. I returned it somewhat sheepishly.

Apparently my mother grew up on Waffle Island. She felt that when I turned eighteen, which I had five days ago, I should move to the island and start a life of my own there. The only reason I hadn't grown up there myself was because of my dad, who my mom had met while he was on a business trip to Waffle Island. I had been born and raised in Flower Bud Village. Which made me good friends with Elli, it turned out, so I was excited to see her.

Like Pascal had said; within the hour we were arriving in port at Waffle Town. Unable to keep a large smile off my face, I gazed at what I could see so far of the town. It looked small but cozy.

I was already leaving the ship before Pascal finished giving me permission to exit. There to meet us on the dock was who I presumed to be the mayor, Hamilton.

"Hello!" I beamed at the short man and dipped my head. "I'm Starri."

He returned my smile. "Good afternoon, Starri. We've been expecting you! Welcome to Waffle Island. I'm sure you'll love it here. Would you like a tour of town?"

I nodded earnestly. "Yes, please!"

The next hour was spent exploring around some of the island with the mayor. I felt infinitely pleased with my new home and couldn't wait to write to my parents to tell them how happy I was. I only met a few people on the tour; the General Store owners, Dr. Jin and Irene and Perry, the girls at the tailor shop, and the guys at On the Hook. Then, of course, I thanked Mayor Hamilton for the tour and went to the Sundae Inn for the night, where I would be staying until I had enough money to buy a house of my own. I met Yolanda, Colleen, Jake, Chase, and Maya there at the Inn. I wasn't so sure about Maya. Either we'd be good friends or big enemies, but I knew I wouldn't find out that night. I tried to calm my excitement and go to sleep in the comfy Inn bed.

Tomorrow I would go meet some more people out of town, then sign up for a job at the Town Hall. I had another friend who lived here and was looking forward to seeing him too, and I heard the Hall was short on staff. I knew I was friendly enough to serve as a clerk or something like that there.

The next day I woke up bright and early to go up to the Maple Lake District and Brownie Ranch to introduce myself. I also stopped by Souffle Farm.

I liked everyone I met yet again. After introducing myself to Renee and her family, I made my way up to the part of the Ranch where they had the barn and coop.

I felt funny as I saw Gray outside working with a horse. When I was much younger, I had a crush on the solemn boy. Of course, the feelings passed over time. I look back on the days I chased him around town, threatening him with my cooties, with a laugh.

"Hey, Gray! Long time no see!" I called over to him as I ran up the hill. His eyes widened as he saw me.

"Oh, Starri, it's you. I heard you were moving here soon," he greeted me. Gray knew I didn't like him so much anymore, and treated me as one of his few friends. Personally, I thought he had enjoyed me chasing him around as a kid.

I smiled widely. "Yeah, I turned eighteen just a few days ago."

"I remember your birthday," Gray said with a nod. "Well, I think you'll like it here. Say hi to Elli for me."

My smile remained as I bowed and then waved, turning to run back down the hill and into Waffle Town once more. I would meet everyone else in the Ganache Mine District tomorrow, I decided.

I got to the Town Hall around eleven. Opening the door, I grinned at the sight of my best friend Elli.

"Elli!" I exclaimed happily, making my way behind the counter to hug her.

"Starri, you're finally here!" Elli gasped in delight, returning my embrace.

Suddenly I remembered something. "Darn it, I missed you yesterday. Here," I stepped back and pulled out a present. "Happy late birthday."

"Oh, thank you!" My friend looked down adoringly at the wrapped gift. Her birthday was Fall first. "I'll open it right when I get home."

I nodded. "Gray says hi, too."

She smiled again. "So, you saw him?"

"Yeah. He looked happy to see me. Anyways," I changed the subject before I possibly forgot. "I came here 'cause I need a job. I heard you guys are short on staff."

"And it would be fun to work with your best friend," Elli pointed out, walking over to a file cabinet on the far left corner of the room. "I'm pretty sure we can fit you in. You'd work from eight to five, Monday thru Saturday."

"Sounds good to me!" I said, excitement building again. "Would you be my only co-worker?"

Elli was scribbling down something on a file she had pulled from the drawer. "No, actually," she started, not looking up. "The mayor's-"

She was cut off by someone entering through the front door.

"I'm back, Elli," a boy's voice said as the door shut. I turned to see someone balancing tow large boxes precariously in his arms. Immediately I went over to help him.

"Here, let me take that," I insisted and took the top box from him. It was heavy, and my arms dropped down under its weight. "Oof," I muttered. A glance into the box told me it was filled with stacks and stacks of paper. Then my eyes were locked with startling blue ones.

_He's cute,_ was my first thought as I took in the guy's appearance. Bleach-blonde hair with a big funny cowlick sticking up off the top of his head made me giggle.

"What?" He sounded irritated at my laugh.

I smiled and turned around to walk towards the counter.

"Who're you, anyways?" he asked when he figured he'd be getting no answer to that question.

"I'm Starri!" I told him cheerfully. "The new resident." I couldn't resist looking back at him for a moment. He was eyeing me scrutinizingly.

"Weird name..." he muttered. My mouth formed a tiny frown. Everyone I had met so far seemed almost overly-friendly. This guy seemed like a jolt back to reality.

"Starri, that's Gill," Elli explained to me once we set out boxes down. She made a disapproving look at the guy. A smile returned to me. And he thought "Starri" was strange...

"Weird name," I remarked with a smirk. Gill's gaze snapped over to me, his blue eyes narrowed.

"I'm Mayor Hamilton's one and only son," he told me carefully, ignoring my last comment.

I just smiled brightly back at him. "And I'm Melissa and James' one and only daughter," I countered, using my parents' real names. I was enjoying this little game. I heard Elli try to smother her laughter.

Gill looked away, exasperated.

"Aw, take a joke, Gilly!" I said, looking sad.

"'Gilly'?" he repeated, twitching. I saw pink tint his cheeks. "Don't call me that."

I scooted closer to him. This guy was fun to mess with! "What's the magic word?"

He gave me a plain weird look. "Please..."

"Thank you. But no promises!"

Elli finally interrupted us. "Well, Starri, Gill's the other co-worker I was about to tell you about."

"What?" Gill looked alarmed. "She's working here?"

I eyed him with a new curiosity. It was obvious he was the mayor's son; he seemed wealthy. He wore a very nice white and dark blue suit, complete with a crisp purple tie.

I could work with it. Gill didn't seem _too_ snobbish.

I tilted my head to the side at him. "If we're going to work together, we might as well be friends," I reasoned.

He just stared back at me, not saying anything, then let out a small huff and turned away.

Okay... Maybe I hadn't gotten off on his good side at our introduction. But he didn't have to be like that! Oh well. Like I said, I could work with it. If I could get Gray soft on me, I was sure I would make friends with Gill. I seemed to have a "way" with people.

"Maybe if you'd stop teasing me," I heard him mutter.

I brightened visibly. "Okay, Fish-man!" I grinned.

He shot me a fierce glare. "Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"Come on, let me have a little fun!" I pouted. "It's either Gilly or Fish-man. Your choice. And if you choose, then I promise I won't make any other jokes!"

Gill didn't look happy at all. He scowled. "Both are awful. I don't care."

"Gilly it is, then," I decided contentedly for him. Before anyone could say anything more, the door opened again, this time to reveal Mayor Hamilton.

"Oh, lovely! I take it you met my son, Starri," he said delightedly. "I hope you two can become good friends!"

A large smile lit my face and I laughed. "I'm sure we will, Mr. Mayor!" I trilled innocently.

Gill rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, sighing loudly. Elli giggled, then remembered to pipe up; "Oh, Mayor Hamilton, Starri just applied for a job. I'm assuming it's okay if she works here?"

"Why, of course!" Gill's father's smile widened - if that had even been possible. He seemed very keen on the idea of his son and I becoming friends. I wondered why.

I decided to voice my thoughts to my new co-worker-apparently-new-friend the next day when we were both assigned to organizing books in the library upstairs.

"Well, Father gets... Excited, when he meets new people, I guess," Gill tried to explain, keeping himself occupied with fitting a book into a relatively tightly-packed shelf. I saw his cheeks brighten a little as he talked about his very different father. "I think he views everyone as a potential friend for me. He feels convinced I don't have any friends at all."

"Do you?" I asked immediately. A small, smug part of me was gloating on the inside; I had gotten Gill to open up a little more on only our second day of knowing each other! This was turning out easier than I thought.

Then I noticed Gill was silent. Great, he'd just realized that he had said too much. I guessed I would have to try a different approach...

"You two seem really different. You don't even look much alike..."

He paused fumbling with another book to mutter, "Why am I glad?" It took all I had not to blush and giggle, since those were pretty much my exact thoughts that I would never say aloud.

"Well, you know what they say, guys look more like their moms and girls look more like their dads. Even me; my dad was the one with blonde hair."

A frown had appeared on Gill's usually impassive face. "My mom died a long time ago. I don't remember much about her," he said somewhat bluntly.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry," I murmured, a little flustered. I hadn't meant to probe him in a sore spot. Suddenly I realized part of the reason why he was so weary and unfriendly with new people. He probably felt he had to be different from his dad, but had no motherly figure to help even his feelings out. I felt a little bad for teasing him yesterday.

"Um, I'm done with my pile of books. Do you want any help with yours?" I offered, seeing his remaining stack.

He huffed a sigh and sat back on his heels from where he was kneeling on the ground, then looked up at me with those bright blue eyes. "You know, you don't have to get all sympathetic with me just because you found out I never really knew my mom."

I was taken aback by his sour attitude towards me. "Jeez, touchy much! I wasn't really trying to be sympathetic. Fine then, don't want my help. I was just wanting to be friends."

I saw the realization flash through his eyes, but I was heading downstairs before he could apologize.

_Gosh, no wonder he doesn't have any friends!_ I thought irritably as I set to work on my next task, sorting through old files.

"Starri? You OK? You seem to be in a bad mood... I thought you were fine when you came in this morning." My best friend's voice was full of concern. I turned to smile at her apologetically.

"Sorry, Elli. It's just..." Looking around guiltily, I beckoned her closer so I could speak quieter. "Gilly is so... I don't know - _mean._" It felt nice to get that out.

Elli blinked, then chuckled. "You're horrible at criticizing people, Starri. Either way, he is a little 'prickly', you could say. But don't let that stop you-" She paused to wink at me. "He's actually a big softie once you get to know him."

My smile turned into a more happier one, widening. "Thanks." I needed a little motivation right then.

She nodded and returned to the counter just in time to greet a golden-haired girl in a country-style outfit. I thought I had seen her before at the Inn.

"Can you make an announcement that the bar will be closed for a while?" she asked Elli, who nodded in reply. I stood up and walked over to talk.

"Hiya! I'm Starri," I introduced myself right away, bowing to the other girl. She smiled back broadly at me.

"Hey, I'm Kathy. I've seen you around the Sundae Inn, haven't I?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm staying there until I can get my own house. I'm working here until I have enough."

"Ah, I'm wondering how Mr. Grouch is handling working with another happy person." A smirk appeared on her face and Elli and I giggled.

"I heard that," Gill said grumpily as if to seal Kathy's comment as he came down the stairs with a large stack of books. Kathy laughed.

Before he knew it, I was next to him, taking the top few books from his wobbly armload. "You need to learn to carry smaller loads so you don't end up dropping everything and hurting yourself!" I scolded him. "Now, where do we put these?"

He looked slightly embarrassed, possibly remembering how he had acted earlier or just because Kathy was here too, but he mumbled, "These are books we don't need anymore, so they go over there." He led me to a bookcase behind the counter. We started organizing the books in it wordlessly.

Kathy and Elli had watched us with interest. "Maybe he'll make a worthwhile friend out of her," the brown-haired girl suggested quietly.

Kathy shrugged. "Who can say?" she murmured. "But they would make an adorable couple."

Elli scoffed and laughed while Kathy looked defensive. "What? They would. Anyways," she continued, raising her voice to normal volume. "Be sure to make that announcement. Take care, guys!"

"Well, she was nice," I chirped cheerfully as I finished with the last of the books. "I hope we can be friends."

Gill didn't say anything, but I could sense he was staring at me. I swear, I could read his thoughts;_ Do you think that with_ everyone_?_

"Wait, Elli," I started, trying to get the urge of looking over at him out of my head. "How're you gonna make that announcement?"

"Oh, over the news," she told me, but the words never really registered in my thoughts as I heard Gill remark quietly, "Oh, look, it's closing time already."

"Ah! Really?" I instinctively looked at my wrist, only to remember I didn't wear a watch anymore. "Well, I guess I'd better get going... Do you need any help closing up?"

"Nope, I think we're good!" Elli smiled. "You can go get your rest."

I nodded and left the Town Hall, feeling pretty good about my first day of work.

Over the course of the next few days, I took a much less direct approach to getting to know Gill better. And it worked! He seemed to have mostly forgiven me for my teasing, but still didn't look too thrilled at me calling him "Gilly". I didn't mind, though. That just made it all the more fun to call him that.

One day I even convinced him to join Elli and I for lunch break! The day after that, I woke up pretty early and was thinking, when I realized I hadn't met everyone in the Ganache Mine District like I had wanted to that one day. Immediately I got up and quietly snuck outside to see Gill hanging out near the stairs that led to Waffle Square.

"Hi!" I piped up happily, catching Gill off-guard from behind and thus scaring him out of his wits.

"S-Starri... Hi. I didn't see you," he said, smoothing out his tux-like shirt. "You're up early."

I nodded. "Yeah, I guess I am. I don't really know what woke me up, but-"

Gill's slightly pained expression told me I was babbling. "Sorry," I chuckled. "Well, I just remembered I haven't seen Ganache Mine District yet. Maybe... Would you be willing to show me around there?" I almost caught myself by surprise as the request slipped out of my mouth. But when I thought about it, I liked the idea.

"Ah... Um, well, we have work today, but maybe Sunday afternoon..." I could tell he was making an effort to be kind to me, and I suddenly felt happy about that.

"Yeah, OK! That'll work!" I agreed delightedly as he headed up the stairs. I hastily followed him. "Thank you, Gill. That makes me happy."

He glanced back at me for a split second, probably noticing that I hadn't called him by his pet name. I didn't miss the pink on his cheeks.

Sunday came quickly, and I was standing in front of the Inn, marveling at how I had already been here for a whole week and waiting for Gill to come.

_Eep!_ I suddenly thought, back on the subject of the tour he was going to give me. _It's almost like a date._ I had never been on a date before... I hoped I hadn't started blushing, because right then I saw Gill coming down the path that I was pretty sure led to the church.

"Hi," he greeted me, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Let's go, hm?" I nodded and we headed up the middle path to the Maple Lake District.

"...I'm guessing my father already showed this all to you on your first day," Gill reasoned. I nodded again, feeling uncharacteristically shy. He gave me a curious side-glance. "Something wrong? You haven't said a word yet."

I shrugged and looked down, smiling a little and scuffling my feet against the thawing path. It was a cold Fall. "I dunno. I guess I'm just feeling... A little shy?"

"Oh," was all he said. Great, I had probably made him feel awkward. My cheeks flushed.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean for you to feel weird..." I rambled mindlessly. "It's just that I've never really been out somewhere with a guy alone before, and..."

Now he was blushing too, but he tried to turn his head away in a failed attempt to hide it. Immediately I clapped my hands over my face. "Oh, I'm so stupid! I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry..."

"Starri, it's fine." Gill caught me by complete surprise by smiling for the first time I had met him. It was a small, amused smile, but a smile nonetheless. My spirits rose considerably and I felt I had actually gotten somewhere in terms of creating friendship between him and me. I smiled back, brightly this time. "Well, that's a relief," I said airily, then laughed a little.

By then we were in the Ganache Mine District. First place for me to meet people was at the entrance to the mine, where Calvin the adventurer, the general store owners' daughter Phoebe, and a cute young girl named Chloe were about to head into the dark cave. After introductions, Gill seemed unwilling to hang around much longer. I insisted on staying a few more moments, trying to get a glance into the mine. "I'd like to check that out sometime," I told my companion for no real reason. "I like looking for gems."

He just shrugged impatiently and ushered me in to the next building without giving me a chance to ask what his deal was. I was nearly pushed right into a well-muscled guy about my age when we entered.

"Wh-Whoa! I'm sorry!" I apologized for bumping into him. Upon closer inspection, the boy had spiky red hair and a kind face.

"Hey, no problem. Say, you're the new resident here, aren't you? Is that why Gill's with you? Showing you around?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, he is. I'm Starri. Everyone here has been really great! I'm glad I moved here," I told him.

He returned my smile. "Good to know! I'm Owen. I'm sure you'll fit in perfectly here." Owen exited to outside, then glanced back at me before he disappeared as if remembering something. "Oh yeah! If you want, Starri, I have an old hammer I don't use anymore by the rock pile outside. Feel free to have it if you want."

"Thank you!" I said delightedly. He gave me a nod, then walked out of view in the direction of the mine. I caught a side-glance at Gill, who looked exasperated.

"Now that you've taken up half the afternoon, let's go," he said sarcastically. I frowned a little, but kept quiet as we headed into the building. He had seemed so nice earlier, and now... I wondered what was up.

Inside I was introduced to Ramsey and Mira. I tried to keep it short as to not annoy Gill anymore, but my plan was thwarted at the last minute when I was about to introduce myself to the person standing next to Mira. To be honest, I couldn't tell if they were male or female.

"My, who is this beautiful young lady?" It was a boy. He spoke before I could start. I felt color flare up on my face as his remark.

"Um, I-I'm Starri," I stammered, being caught off-guard. I wasn't used to being complemented like that at all. "Pleased to meet you."

"Ah, polite too, I see." He nodded approvingly, his long purple hair bobbing with his head. He brushed it back with a flamboyant sleeve of his frilly coat. "What are you doing with Gill here? He doesn't deserve a girl like you." The strange young man cast a purposeful glance at my companion. My face was surely 100% red now. _Gill "doesn't deserve" me? What is this guy talking about? I only met Gill a week ago! No, less than a week ago!_

A dart of a glance at Gill showed me he was red in the face too, though doing a slightly better job at hiding it than me. He took a step forward. "What are you talking about? I'm just showing her around!" I nodded vigorously, but I knew I wasn't doing anything but convincing the guy he was right.

"I'm sure you are, I'm sure you are," he said with a knowing smile. "Now, off with you two. Gill, if you don't do anything with her than I just might have to steal Starri away from you!" He waved his finger at Gill, who was stiff as a stone.

_Oh gosh,_ my mind squeaked. _Did he just say what I think he said?_

He gave me a lavish bow, raising his red eyes to meet mine and blowing a kiss. I wasn't quite sure whether to feel flattered or plain weirded out. "I'm Julius, by the way. And Starri is an absolutely _lovely_ name."

I probably would've stood there embarrassed and confused forever if Gill hadn't yanked on my arm, jarring me to my senses and out the door.

He was furious. Outside he crossed his arms and paced, trying to blow off some steam. "Don't listen to him. Julius is full of it. I don't know why people tolerate him."

I was silent, still in a bit of a daze. Then out of nowhere I giggled. Gill looked at me like I had gone insane.

"Sorry," I said, still giggling. "Waffle Island has a lot of interesting people, is all. I really like it here."

He blinked, his gaze softening. "Well, I'm glad you do. Not many people view the island like that nowadays." And with that he turned back to the path, gesturing for me to follow. Smiling, I had a skip to my step as I went after him, pausing to snatch the hammer Owen had mentioned by the rock pile.

Soon we were approaching what I assumed was the carpenter shop. As we got closer, a younger boy who had just been chopping away at a tree turned and spotted us. He came over and gave a polite bow. "Hi! You must be the new resident." The statement was directed at me.

"Yes, I'm Starri." I returned the bow.

"Well, I'm Bo. Nice to meet you. Hi, Gill," he added, seeming to remember at the last moment the mayor's son was here too. "That's nice of you to show her around." Bo's voice hinted that it was a little out of character for Gill to be so considerate.

"We're just here so she can meet Luke and Dale, then we'll go." Gill ignored Bo's comment. The younger boy sighed and gestured for us to follow him up to the door of the building, then let us in.

Inside it smelled strongly of sawdust. There was a large, gruff-looking man behind a cash register on the far side of the room and a figure wearing a flame-patterned bandana working away at a saw table.

"Hello, boys," the man greeted Gill and Bo as we walked up to the counter. "Who is this?"

"I'm Starri," I introduced myself. I had now said those words more times than I could count in the past week. "The new resident."

"Ah, yeah, I heard there was a new person around! Glad to have finally met you." He stretched out a hand for me to shake. "I'm Dale, in case you're wondering. Head carpenter here. Luke!" Dale surprised me when he suddenly bellowed the name. "Come on over here."

The boy at the table saw whipped around, startled by Dale's loud voice. He put a fingerless-gloved hand to the top of his head as if to pull back his bandana, then made his way over. His yellow eyes were curious and on me. I made a guess that he was Dale's son, judging by the way Dale called him over and how they had the same navy-blue hair.

"Yo," Luke greeted, his mouth breaking into a large grin. "I'm Luke, obviously."

I smiled in return. "Starri, if you didn't hear earlier."

Luke nodded, then his bright eyes trailed over to Gill. "Hey Gill, what're you doing here?"

"I'm with Starri," Gill replied. Was that a defensive note in his voice? I couldn't be sure. "And now that she's met you, we'll be on our way."

_I'm still here,_ I thought exasperatedly, but kept my mouth shut. Gill turned towards the door without so much as a goodbye, and I shrugged helplessly at Luke and Dale and Bo. "It was really nice to meet you," I said weakly as I had no choice but to follow Gill. Outside, I suddenly felt irritated at him.

"Are you in a hurry or something?" I asked, trying to keep a reasonable tone in my voice.

"Uh-" Gill was obviously caught off-guard by my question.

"If you are, that's OK," I continued. "But you could've told me beforehand, so I'd know to keep it short with people."

Gill suddenly looked defeated. "I... I don't know. I just don't really like it up here. Sorry."

Somehow I didn't think he was telling the truth. My mouth quirked downward, but I went along with his excuse. Maybe when I got to know him better he'd open up. Gill was just a tough nut to crack.

"OK then, let's go." I started down the path again to see it forked, one side going up a small slope and the other a sharp corner around the fence of Dale's Carpentry.

"Up there is Praline Forest," Gill told me when he saw me standing at the fork, trying to make a decision on which way to go.

"Oh, then the other way must be the way back!" I concluded, then took off around the corner before Gill could interrupt. I skidded to a halt just in time to avoid a humongous root blocking the path. "Holy cow, that's big!" I exclaimed, reaching out to touch it.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Gill said from behind me. "You could've waited up, you know."

"Sorry," I said, looking back with a sheepish grin. All irritated feelings were forgotten. "Why is it here in the middle of the path?"

"It's a root of the Mother Tree." He came to stand beside me and also rest his hand on the smooth wood. He looked sentimental.

"Oh, I think I remember my mom mentioning something about that." My head tilted to the side.

Gill nodded. "The Mother Tree used to bring the island a lot of happiness and prosperity. It was where the Harvest Goddess lived. Then, when people started taking it for granted, it died."

"That's so sad!"

"Because it died is why people have been leaving the island. Your mom must have been one of them."

"No! My mom left when she met my dad," I told him defensively.

"Well, either way, something good must be happening, because people are coming back. Like you." When he turned to look at me, I saw a rare bright expression on his face. "It makes me really hopeful for the island's future."

I smiled. It was nice to know Gill really cared about something good like that.

Oh yeah, he was going to be the next mayor, wasn't he? I realized. It was... a strange thought.

"Where does this path lead to?" I asked, slightly changing the subject.

The bright expression vanished. I was disappointed, to tell the truth. "To the Caramel River District. I'd better talk to Dale about getting it removed. When you get enough money to get a house, you'll probably end up in that district, and I'm assuming you'd want a shortcut to Ganache Mine District available?"

I blinked. "How do you know I'm saving up for a house?"

He stared back. "I'm the mayor's son. I know these things. Plus, you told me to meet you at the Sundae Inn today, where you're staying."

"Oh, yeah, duh." I felt a little stupid, but I smiled. Gill just shook his head and headed back up the path, expecting me to follow. I set off after him with a renewed determination. I _would_ crack the shell.

Over the next few days I steadily tried to get stubborn Gill to open up a little more, a little more...

"Oh wow, I didn't know there was a schoolroom here!" I exclaimed one day when I stumbled across the side room of the library.

"You're telling me you've never seen that room before," Gill said in his exasperated tone, which I was getting used to lately.

"Well, no, I knew there was a room here, I just didn't know what it was for until now," I replied indignantly. "When do the kids come for school?"

Gill stood up from where he was yet again sorting books and walked over. "It's not being used right now. There's only three young children on the island right now. Not much point in teaching just three. They're homeschooled."

"Oh, that's too bad. Who would the teacher be if school was in session?"

He placed his hands on his hips, as if anticipating a reaction from me. "Probably me."

I put a hand to my mouth in a futile attempt at smothering giggles. Gill being a teacher was almost stranger than him being mayor!

Now he was frowning deeper than his usual scowl. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, Gilly, nothing!" I said gleefully.

"Don't call me that!"

"Ah-ah-ah! That was our deal, remember? Either Fish-man or Gilly!"

"I chose neither."

"But that wasn't an option. So I chose Gilly for you!"

He just glowered at me. Laughing, I fled downstairs to see Elli. She looked up at me with wide brown eyes as I thundered down. "Gill causing you trouble?" she asked, concerned.

"Nah," I panted, grinning. "More of the other way around. This job is fun!"

My best friend laughed. "I'm glad you're having so much fun." She glanced at the wall clock, then said, "Oh, it's time to record the news. I'd better get started with that."

_News...?_ I thought. Then it clicked. "Elli, you're on TV?" I gasped.

Elli looked a little confused. "Um, yeah, I am... You didn't notice before? Is that so wonderful? I guess I'm used to it. It's not like Waffle Island is the biggest place on Earth, either." She shrugged.

I didn't listen to her uncaring tone. "Oh, I've always wanted to be on TV! Please, Elli-" I walked closer to her and clasped my hands together, eyes shining. "Can I do the news today? Just this once, I swear!"

She didn't seem bothered by my request. "Sure. It'll be nice to take a break. For all I care, do it every day!"

I was too excited to reply. Ever since I was young I'd wanted to be on screen at least once in my life. I don't know why; I'd just always had a knack for publicity.

Then, of course, Gill came down the stairs. He'd heard part of our conversation. "What? You're letting Starri do the news?"

Elli wasn't concerned. "Why not? I already do the weather, and I'm sure people are tired of seeing my face every day."

"Yeah, why does it matter so much to you, anyway?" I asked.

"Because... Because you're so new here," Gill came up with lamely. "You don't have any special training."

I snorted. I was pretty sure Gill just wanted to get back at me for teasing him again.

Not paying any more heed to his protests, I was led into the room where they recorded the TV shows.

I thought I did pretty well. There wasn't much to report, but I thoroughly enjoyed the cameras on me. I was never one for stage fright.

Elli, however, was convinced I was born for the screen. The rest of the day at work was spent in denial listening to her gush about what a great actress I would be or trying not to snicker at Gill's begrudging looks.

When I returned to the Sundae Inn, I was surprised when Maya came up to me. "Starri, you were great on the news!" she said admiringly.

I blinked, then rubbed the back of my head, suddenly feeling bashful. "Not really... I didn't do much."

"Well, _everyone_ loved it. You should be on more often."

"Maybe, but I dunno." I felt both embarrassed and pleased at the praise. "Wait, you have your own show, don't you?"

"Yes, the cooking show, but it's mostly reruns nowadays," Maya said a little remorsefully. "Maybe since Chase is back I'll be able to do a few more recipes, though."

"You should ask him sometime," I said encouragingly. I hadn't come across the knowledge that Maya was possibly the worst cook on the island quite yet, so I thought nothing much of her having a cooking show and was puzzled and sorry for her when Chase got a doubtful, pained look on on his face when she told him she wanted to do more episodes.

_I'll have to see if I can watch her show, _I mused to myself as I made my way upstairs. Up in my room I wondered why Gill was so opposed of me doing anything. He seemed to he the only person who wasn't thrilled at my performance on TV - which, now that I thought about it, would've been really strange if he was anyways. So maybe it was better that he wasn't. But all the same, he didn't have to act so _mad_ about it. I wondered when he'd start being nicer.

The weeks seemed to fly by after that, and before I even knew it, it was Winter. I had been living on Waffle Island for a whole season!

It had snowed on the very first day of the season, and I was surprised at the amount. Just the day before the ground had been covered in thick golden grass and now absolutely none of it was visible underneath all the snow.

I was up unusually early, and I waited for Elli to come and let me in to the Town Hall at the square. I kept myself busy by watching what shapes my breath made as it billowed out of my mouth.

"Hello," Elli announced her arrival as she made her way up the stairs that led from town to the square.

I smiled, but it broke into a large yawn. My arms reached up in a stretch, then my eyes widened and my arms snapped back down to wrap around my torso.

"C-Cold!" I shivered.

Elli laughed. "You need a coat, girl. The scarf and hat are cute, but they won't do you much good unless you change out of that sundress. What are you doing in that, anyways?"

I pulled my hat I bought at the tailor shop the other day down over my head a little more. The scarf I had taken from home - er, Flower Bud Village - had matched by coincidence, so I wore that too. "Well, the weather report said it was supposed to be sunny today," I chattered.

She shook her head. "Waffle Island has _very distinct_ seasons."

"I've learned my lesson then," I managed. "Now, can you let your best friend in so she won't freeze to death?"

Elli just chuckled and unlocked the door. "Oh, I thought I should tell you..." She paused with the door halfway open. I huffed impatiently. "It's Gill's birthday tomorrow."

My eyes widened and I didn't think much of the cold anymore. "Really? Why didn't you tell me earlier? I could've planned a surprise party and everything!"

She laughed again and we went inside. "How do you think Gill would like that? He wouldn't talk to you for days."

"It would be hilarious!" I insisted, eyes shining.

"All right, it would be," Elli admitted. "Tell you what. We can do one, but only with us two. Any more people and we'd give him a heart attack."

I couldn't help but snicker at the thought. "So, what kind of cake does he like?"

She frowned. "Darn, I don't know that one..."

"How could I ask him without getting him to suspect anything?" I asked frustratedly.

Before Elli would answer, of course, Gill came in. We stared at him like a couple of kids caught with their hands in a cookie jar. He gave us a weird look. "What?" he asked in his usual irritable manner. That broke us out of our daze.

I smiled sweetly. "What yourself?"

He just shook his head and headed over to the counter. I moved to the small desk in the back Mayor Hamilton used when he got here later in the day to answer phone calls. I go to work thinking of ways to get what cake Gill liked out of him.

By midday, I finally got an idea. When I had nothing assigned at the moment, I walked over to the form that sat on the section of counter that Gill stood behind.

"Hello," I said with a smile. He eyed me somewhat wearily, and my smile transformed into a small frown. _Jeez,_ I thought, feeling a little offended. I looked down at the papers and leafed through them until I saw Gill's name and picture on one. A smile returned to my face.

"'Pompous and high-handed sometimes, but a young man with serious ideas and ambitions towards the island,'" I read aloud, then giggled, looking up at Gill. "You're 'pompous'? That's a funny word."

He scowled at me, though his cheeks had turned slightly pinkish.

My smile remained. "How come it doesn't say other stuff you like?" I asked, referring to the "likes" section on the profile.

"Like what?" His tone was untrusting.

I longed to mimic him, but restrained myself. "Like... Your favorite color," I suggested.

He just stared at me.

"What? Don't tell me you don't have a favorite color," I said disbelievingly.

"I don't know. Blue? I don't really care about colors."

I made a pouty face. "You're no fun, you know that, Gilly? Well, _my_ favorite color is pink."

"Of course it is," he muttered. I was a little surprised he didn't say, _"Don't call me 'Gilly'."_

"Hm..." I mused, pretending to think. "What's your... Favorite cake? I really like strawberry shortcake," I added, trying not to get him suspicious of anything. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Elli flash me a sharp glance, but I ignored it purposefully.

"Um, I kind of like shortcake too," Gill mumbled, sounding uncomfortable now and not looked at me anymore. I guessed he wasn't happy about having something in common with me.

My smile turned into a grin. "That's funny, now we have two things in common!"

He shot me a doubtful look.

"We do," I repeated. "We both like shortcake, and we both have blonde hair!"

Gill rolled his eyes. "That's a childish thing to point out."

_And you being unhappy about having something in common with me isn't childish?_ I thought, but decided against saying it aloud. So instead I said, "So? I'm happy we have _something_ in common."

He let out a "hmph" before adding, "Actually, your whole personality is childish."

I shrugged. I didn't know if that was supposed to be a complement or not, though I was pretty sure it wasn't meant to be nice. Either way, it didn't offend me.

I straightened up and gave Gill a wave to tell him I was done with the conversation. I had gotten the info I needed, and I was grateful he hadn't been suspicious. Wow, I sounded like a spy.

When I returned to the Sundae Inn that night, I headed straight to the kitchen, where Chase was starting to cook for the bar. When he saw me approach he blinked his nearly identical purple eyes as mine at me. "Yes?"

I smiled and gave him a polite bow. "Hi, I was wondering if you could bake a strawberry shortcake for me by tomorrow morning? Sorry for such short notice."

"Sure," he said to my relief. "Anytime for you, Starri." He gave me a smile that I interpreted to be on the flirtatious side.

My mind was reeling, but I tried to pretend not to notice the smile. "Thank you!" I said cheerfully, then attempted to twirl around to head up to my room when Chase's voice stopped me again.

"Don't you know how to make cake? I think all people should know how to at least cook a decent meal. You seem like the type who likes to bake."

I turned around again, now feeling somewhat shy. "Well, I do like baking, but I don't think I'm that good... And plus, I haven't been able to for a while since there are no ovens in the rooms."

"Oh, don't do the self-denial thing. I'm almost positive you're good at baking sweets," he insisted. "Say, if you haven't cooked in so long, we could arrange for some cooking lessons sometime. Or, at least, you could let me taste your cake or something."

That idea appealed to me. I forgot all about his flirtatious smile and eagerly nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good! How about this Saturday night, since we both have Sundays off," I suggested.

He nodded. "Fine by me. See you then."

I smiled again. "Okay! Good night, Chase." I thundered up the stairs, excited for tomorrow and Saturday night, and collapsed into bed.

In the morning I got ready in record time. Downstairs, I found the shortcake I had ordered all ready to go on the counter. I grabbed it and left some money on the counter for Chase's trouble.

Elli was already at the Town Hall. "Turn off the lights and get over here!" she said urgently. "He'll be here any minute."

"Sorry! I tried to hurry!" I said as I flicked off the lights and scuttled over behind the counter with the cake still in my hands. I tried so hard to cover up my giggles.

"Shh!" Elli hissed, but she was grinning. I took a deep breath and tried my best to be quiet.

A few moments later the door opened. "Weird..." we head Gill mutter uncertainly, probably referring to nobody being here and it was dark. The lights came back on.

"SURPRISE!" Elli and I jumped up from behind the counter a split second after it became light again.

Gill let out a shout of surprise and nearly fell over. We started cracking up. I quickly got the cake from behind my back and went over to him, still laughing.

"Happy birthday, Gilly," I said sincerely, and brought out the strawberry shortcake. He stared at it.

"_That's_ why you were being so weird yesterday with the questions," he remarked, taking the cake from me. Then, he totally surprised me by adding, "Thank you for the cake. That was nice. Though next time you can lay off the surprise." And he smiled.

_Wow_, Gill had a nice smile. Or was that just me? I wasn't sure, but I swear I nearly melted right then and there. I wished he would smile more often.

I mentally shook myself before I stood there like an idiot for much longer.

"I'm so glad you like it!" I said happily. "And maybe since you asked so nicely, next time you won't get a surprise. But no promises."

Gill just shook his head. He was in a really good mood, wasn't he?

"So how old are you today?" I asked, giddy all of a sudden. I had to take advantage of his non-grouchiness.

"Nineteen," he told me.

"Oh, come on. Everyone's older than me!" I complained, but I still smiled. "Elli just turned nineteen too on Fall first." _He probably already knew that,_ I thought immediately after I said it. I felt a little dumb, but Gill didn't seem to notice.

"And how old are you?"

I had forgotten Gill didn't know my age. "How old do you think I am?" I countered with a sly grin.

He had to think about that for a moment. I took the opportunity to return back behind the reception desk. "I don't know, seventeen?" he guessed.

I scoffed. "_Eighteen!_" I corrected him. Elli laughed.

"Sorry! You look- you look young, is all," he said, ending awkwardly.

"Well, I didn't turn eighteen that long ago," I admitted. "Summer twenty-fifth."

"Ah." He nodded. "I don't really like Summer."

"Oh," I said, feeling somewhat dampened now. "Why not?"

"We have really hot Summers here and I get heatstroke easily," he told me absently.

I frowned, and then the phone rang, preventing me from saying anything else.

A little later in the day, I started feeling brighter. I began teasing Gill again, trying to think of good birthday ones. Elli chipped in on the fun, too. I think we got away with a lot more than usual since Gill was in such an exceptionally good mood.

When both him and I had nothing left to do and were lounging around in the library, Gill spoke up.

"Starri, why did you do all the birthday stuff for me?"

My eyes found his and I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Why wouldn't I?"

"Because... I've been... kind of a jerk to you..." He looked away.

_So he knows when he's doing that!_ was my immediate thought. I had the urge to ask, "Then why _do_ you be a jerk to me?" but what came out instead was, "That doesn't mean I can't be nice to you."

Gill looked absolutely guilty. He sighed, still not looking at me directly. "You make me feel so horrible about myself sometimes, you know that?"

It was Saturday. I got off work the tiniest bit early so I wouldn't keep Chase waiting to start the cooking... whatever-it-was. I had forgotten to tell Elli about our arrangement earlier, so she was appalled.

"'Forgot'? Don't tell me you 'forgot' to tell your best friend that you're going on a date with someone!"

"It's not a date!" I protested, hitting her lightly. "He just wants to see how good at cooking I am."

"That at least means he's _interested_ in you," Elli pressed, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

My face heated up. Elli made no attempt to keep the conversation low-key, and I was all-too-aware of Gill staring at me with those intense blue eyes from across the room. I didn't really know why I felt so uncomfortable talking about this stuff in front of him all of a sudden. Maybe it was because he was another guy, thought somehow I knew that wasn't the reason. No time to ponder it then, though.

"Can I get off early or not?" I finally asked, feeling uncharacteristically annoyed with Elli.

She blinked as though surprised - which I wouldn't blame her if she was - then nodded. "Yes, but only five minutes or so. It's not like the Inn is halfway across town."

"I know, I just don't want to keep him waiting."

She gave me that suggestive, knowing look again.

I had been unusually quiet the rest of the day and the air between Gill and I was incredibly awkward, which I didn't fully understand. Why would Gill care? It wasn't like he... liked... me... or something...

No-no-no. That just wasn't possible. Besides, Gill just liking me even as a friend would be weird. He probably felt awkward because Elli and I were good friends and we were talking so openly about my dating life. I knew _I_ would feel uncomfortable if two people I didn't know very well were talking about stuff like that loud and clear.

I meant to check in with Gill about it, but before I knew it it was closing time and I still hadn't spoken to him. Oh well.

"Hi Chase, I didn't keep you waiting, did I?" I asked as I made my way over to the kitchen.

"No, not at all," he reassured me.

"Oh, good," I said in relief. "I must remind you, I haven't cooked in a while, so..."

He laughed. "I'm confident in you, Starri."

And that started our nearly six-hour cooking session. I started by just baking a simple cake, which Chase liked so much he had me make more and more dishes until I was cooking for customers at the bar. It was a lot of fun.

By eleven, business was dying down and I started getting tired.

"Well, I had better get to bed," I announced with a yawn. "Do you need any help cleaning up or anything?"

"No, I've got it," Chase told me, smiling. "You're not only good at cooking, you're good at keeping your work space clean too. How do you do it?"

I laughed. "I have no idea! I didn't even know I was that clean."

"I'll find out your secret someday," he vowed jokingly. "We'll have to do this again sometime."

"Oh, yes!" I nodded eagerly. "It was really fun."

We said goodnight and I hurried upstairs. Sleep would be welcome. Before I nodded off, though, my mind went back to the awkwardness between Gill and I earlier. I hoped it wouldn't carry on into tomorrow. And a small, selfish part of me was wishing that maybe Chase wouldn't ask me to do anything with him like that again anytime soon, at least. I absolutely couldn't stand the weirdness between me and Gill - and even Elli. I didn't like her thinking I was dating anyone, especially because (no offense to her) she had a tendency to let things slip out, resulting in rumors. She was still an awesome friend, but the last thing I wanted was to have people think I was in a relationship with someone I hardly knew.

Turns out I didn't have to worry too much. Chase never insisted on anymore cooking sessions, and the atmosphere between Gill and I pretty much returned to normal. The only minor problem was that Maya seemed a little less friendly towards me. But I could have been easily imagining it.

At Elli's insistence, I wore a long-sleeved shirt and leggings underneath my dress. I replaced my sandals with boots. As a very late birthday present, she got me a pair of nice gloves to go with the outfit. Now all I was missing was earmuffs!

I didn't dare say the thought aloud, though. I didn't want anyone to needlessly spend their money on me.

It was Monday, the ninth of Winter, and I slept in a little late due to being out and about at Ganache Mine District visiting with Julius, Owen and Luke and company. I did that nearly every Sunday, but today I had to skip breakfast in my panic to get to work on time. Dang weekends!

I nearly crashed into Gill on the way in. "Sorry!" I puffed, half to Gill, half to Elli for almost being late. I skittered to the reception desk.

The day proceeded on as normal then, except for the fact I was becoming aware of that horrible awkward tension between Gill and I again. Internally, I was somewhat distraught. What had happened this time? I thought everything was better now! It felt as though he wanted to say something, but couldn't get it out. I was pondering over what could be troubling him when Elli spoke words that caught my attention beside me at the main counter later in the afternoon. Gill had gone upstairs.

"Tomorrow's Thanksgiving," she noted unexpectedly.

I blinked and widened my eyes. "Oh my gosh, it is! Great, I haven't made a single cake!" Now I was really distraught.

"Don't worry, Starri, I haven't either," Elli reassured me. "Would you like to come over to Yolanda's tonight and bake some with me?"

"Would that be all right with her?" I asked doubtfully. Really, the idea excited me, and it would save me from having to ask Chase to borrow the kitchen at the Inn, which would no doubt turn into another cooking session. Don't get me wrong, Chase was a nice guy, but... if I spent too much time with him, people would start to get ideas, and... No.

"Oh, I'm positive she wouldn't mind at all," Elli answered. "In fact, she'd be delighted, I'm sure."

"All right, if you're sure," I said, smiling. It would be nice to get together with Elli without Mr. Grumpy-Gills around.

Speaking of. He walked down the stairs as I finished the thought. He eyed me for a long moment, and his mouth started to open, but then he seemed to think twice as his eyes flicked over to Elli and then his father. My brow furrowed the tiniest bit, trying to figure out what Gill's deal was today.

Partly to get my mind off Gill, I turned to face Mayor Hamilton where he now occupied the reception desk. "Mr. Mayor, may I have the day off tomorrow?" I requested.

He glanced up from a document. "Why, sure. May I ask why?"

"Of course. It's Thanksgiving tomorrow, and I know usually that doesn't mean we get a day off, but, I haven't made any cake yet. It's going to be a really late night, probably. And there's so many people to give cake to!"

Hamilton laughed. "All right, you have the day off tomorrow. You've earned it, Starri; you haven't missed a single day of work yet."

I smiled widely. "Thank you, sir!"

"Just be sure to make us some cake," he said jokingly.

"I will," I laughed.

When the mayor and I went home for the day and left Elli and Gill to close up, the brown-eyed girl noticed the mayor's son staring after the doorway where I had just exited.

Elli smiled slyly at him. "Starri's really something, isn't she?"

"Mm-hm..." he said absentmindedly. Then his eyes widened. "I didn't say that out loud, did I?"

"You did," Elli snickered. "But don't worry, it'll be our little secret." She put a finger to her mouth and winked.

Gill scowled at her. "And you're oh-so reliable to keep secrets, huh?"

"But even if you hadn't said it, I still would've guessed you like her," Elli continued, ignoring Gill's remark.

"What? I don't _like_ her!" he defended himself incredulously.

"Why so quick to protest? You're not fooling me, Gilly!" she replied with a sing-song voice. "I see that rosy color on your cheeks, too."

"Oh, so now I'm 'Gilly' to you too. Lovely," he muttered. "And what makes you think I... 'like' her?" He grimaced at the word "like" as if it was a word he avoided using unless necessary.

"Anyone could tell," she said in a "duh!" tone of voice. "They just have to watch you for a day. Those looks you flash her when you think no one's looking, how awkward you obviously feel when you talk to her... I could go on for ages." Gill's face was getting pinker and pinker by the second. "Oh, by the way, what were you trying to say to her today? You kept hesitating and seemed to almost open your mouth every time you bumped into her today."

"None of your business," he snapped. "And I do _not_ 'like' her, you hear me?" Without another word to her he stormed out.

Elli shook her head and smiled. "What a prick."

Outside, when he was sure Elli - or no one else, for that matter - couldn't hear him, Gill muttered, "Strawberry shortcake... That's her favorite, right? Where can I get some shortcake?"


	2. Chapter 2

I stayed up well past midnight baking cakes for everyone. There was Elli and Gill, of course, then Mayor Hamilton, everyone at the Inn, and Gray... And while I was at it with Gray, why not everyone else at Brownie Ranch? Then there was Owen and Julius and Luke, and the other people were they worked... I swear, I baked cakes for half the town. I had no idea how I would get them to everyone.

_Might as well get started early,_ I figured once I woke up. I knew the Inn family would be awake, so I'd start off by giving them their cake. I would definitely need to make several trips back to the room, considering Elli had to help me bring back all the cake the night before.

Precariously holding four cakes for Yolanda, Colleen, Jake, and Maya, I made my way downstairs. "Happy Thanksgiving!" I called to them all.

"Well, good morning and happy Thanksgiving to you too!" Colleen chuckled. "Thank you, Starri. The thought is very sweet."

Jake, looking mildly surprised but pleased, offered me a free piece of cake from their stock today since neither he or Colleen had made me one. I told him I'd pick it up that night.

"Aw, now I feel bad! I didn't make you one!" Maya exclaimed, appalled. I had a little feeling she also felt bad about the cold shoulder she had been giving me ever since the cooking session with Chase.

"Oh, no, that's OK," I reassured her. "Your dad offered me one that I'll just pick up tonight. Besides, I don't need that much cake." I patted my stomach jokingly.

She scoffed and laughed. "Starri, don't be silly. You're as thin as a stick!"

That's what everyone back in Flower Bud Village used to say all the time, I remembered. I dashed back upstairs for the next set of cakes. When I came back down Maya stared at me. "How much did you even make?"

"Practically enough to feed an army," Yolanda answered for me. She delicately took a bit of her cake and tasted it. "Oh, my, Starri, this is wonderful. Why are you wasting away all that cooking talent at the Town Hall? Chase had a good eye when he invited you to cook here that one night."

I smiled sheepishly. "I like it at Town Hall."

"Oh, yes, Elli's there. You two are close. She's quite the baker, herself."

I nodded, and then with a goodbye I set off for Brownie Ranch.

Cain and Hanna were surprised but delighted. "Starri," Hanna declared. "Whoever you marry will be a lucky fellow indeed." I blushed but said thank you.

"Thank you for the cake," Cain said. "That was very kind. Renee and Gray are out in the barn or coop."

I nodded and made my way up the hill to the barn. I peeked inside and meekly called, "Gray?"

Both his and Renee's heads popped up from behind different animals.

"Hi, Starri!" Renee was the first to call out cheerfully. "Come on in."

Smiling and feeling shy all of a sudden, I stepped inside the warm barn. "I brought cake. Happy Thanksgiving!"

It felt a little strange seeing Gray; he used to be my only male friend, and now suddenly Elli seemed to be my only _female_ friend. Now I had Gill and Luke and Owen and even Julius. I wondered if Gray felt somewhat abandoned, and my awkward feelings turned to guilt.

But as he walked over to accept the cake, he didn't seem angry or sad; in fact, quite happy (or as happy as Gray would show). Relief washed over me. So much so, for that matter, that I hugged him before I let him take his gift.

"Um... Thanks," he said uncomfortably, obviously embarrassed at being hugged in front of Renee.

I laughed and let go. I was about to tease him, "You know you liked it," but for some reason the words caught in my throat. Instead I turned to Renee.

"Here," I said. "I wasn't sure what you like, so I hope chocolate is all right."

"Oh, that's fine," she said happily. "I'm just glad you even thought of me."

"I'm sure I'm not the only one," I told her. "There's probably someone out there thinking they should make you a cake."

I could tell her mind immediately jumped to someone in particular and she blushed slightly. I smiled knowingly, then said my farewells. I had to hurry to the rest of the Ganache Mine District.

As I slowed my pace slightly along the path to the blacksmith's to enjoy the snow, I found my thoughts wandering to Hanna's earlier comment for no apparent reason, and I felt my face heat up. Would I ever really settle down here on Waffle Island? Would I ever marry someone? The idea was very foreign to me. I had never given the concept much thought before; I guess I took it for granted that I would get married someday, thus never realizing how big of a deal it really was. How would I feel if one of the boys I had met - Owen or Luke or Julius, or even _Gill_ - asked me to marry them one day?

All right, that was getting a little too weird. And ridiculous. Marriage was a very, very long ways off. No need to worry myself over it now.

I had to giggle, though. Gill asking someone to marry him seemed so absurd I could barely imagine it. In fact, the more I thought about it, the funnier it seemed, and by the time I reached the blacksmith's I had to pause and take a long, deep breath to control my fits of laughter before I went inside.

I nearly collided with Julius in the doorway.

"Starri!" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry. What a coincidence, though; I was just on my way to see you."

"O-Oh, it's okay!" I said, regaining my balance. "You were looking for me?" I suddenly got a slightly dreadful feeling.

"Yes," he said, then pulled out something from behind his back. "These are for you, my dear."

I stared in astonishment at the large, colorful bouquet of flowers he presented. There were flowers of every sort; hibiscuses, Blue Mists, lilies, snowdrops... Where'd he even get all these flowers during Winter? It was probably the most extravagant gift I had ever received, let alone from a guy.

"Wow..." was all I could manage at first. Then I finally blinked, and smiled. "Thank you, Julius."

"No need to thank me," he said dismissively. "I'm only giving you what you deserve. I see Gill hasn't been making much effort."

Julius' warning to Gill when I first met him suddenly ominously came back to me. _If you don't do anything with her, I just might have to steal her away from you!_ I blushed.

Then, looking at the flowers, I realized that I wouldn't be able to carry them everywhere the rest of the day. I was happy to change the subject.

"Um, Julius, I have a few more stops on the way home, and I'm afraid I can't carry the flowers along with everything I already have," I explained.

He nodded immediately. "Of course. I'll take these down to the Sundae Inn right now. They'll be waiting for you when you return." Then he stooped down, took my hand and kissed it before I could do anything. With a final wink, he left.

I stood there for a few seconds before coming to my senses. Julius was a strange man indeed. But he had good intentions. Overall, he was very kind. Though I wasn't too sure about this whole "stealing me away" business.

"Wow, Starri, this is great," Owen told me when I got to him. "How'd you get the time to make all this cake?"

"All last night," I laughed. "I had some help, though."

"Well, that's good," he said. "Man, now I feel guilty; I didn't get you anything..."

"That's all right," I said good-naturedly. "It's the thought that counts."

"Nah, I think I'll still try and get you something. I'm guessing most of the people you made cake for didn't get anything for you, and that's no good. You deserve it, being so kind to everyone. And you've only been living here for a season!"

"Well, the Inn people are letting me have a free cake," I tried. I didn't want Owen to have to go through all the trouble of getting me a gift. "And Julius gave me flowers."

"Flowers? Did he really?" Owen laughed. "I'll beat his present by ten times, just you wait." He glanced at the clock. "Well, I gotta go to the mines. See ya, Starri." And with that, he left.

It felt a little strange, all these guys getting gifts for me. But that feeling was somewhat overpowered by me remembering I hadn't gotten to try out my hammer Owen had let me have yet. I made a note to myself to ask him advice about the mines next time I saw him.

Saying goodbye to Ramsey and Mira, I made my way to the carpenter's. As always, Bo was out front, chopping away at a tree.

"Hello, Bo!" I called, pulling out his piece of cake. He stared at it in wonder for a moment, then seemed to finally remember it was Thanksgiving.

"Th-Thanks!" he said, surprised. "Oh yeah, Luke was talking about wanting to see you today. He's up in the forest."

I blinked. "Okay, I'll go there. I was planning on giving him cake anyway." I wondered if Luke had a present for me too. Wouldn't that be ironic?

I first dropped off a cake for Dale before I went up to Praline Woods. I saw Luke before he saw me, and I think I startled him when I spoke his name. He tried not to let it show, though.

"Ah! Starri, it's you," he said unnecessarily, fumbling with his axe. He almost dropped it, but made it look like he meant to by setting the bladed end on a stump and leaning against the handle. "What's up?"

I had to smile at his attempt to be cool. "I brought you some cake, " I said, holding out the spinach cake I had made especially for him. I remembered him mentioning he liked spinach. Personally, I thought it was kind of nasty, but whatever floated his boat.

"Whoa, thanks! Spinach is the best!" he exclaimed in awe, taking the cake. "I'm surprised you even remembered I like it."

"Of course I remembered," I said. "By the way, Bo said you were looking for me?"

Luke's face visibly reddened. He tried to hide it by rubbing his nose. "Uh, well... I, um, just wanted to say happy Thanksgiving!"

I tilted my head slightly. "Oh, all right. Thanks, and happy Thanksgiving to you too." I smiled and turned to leave. I had a feeling that was definitely not why he wanted to see me.

"W-Wait! Starri!" Luke suddenly called after me.

I turned to face him again curiously. "Yes?"

"Will... Um... I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go out to lunch with me today?"

He said it so rushed I barely understood him. I laughed. "Sure! I was wondering what I was going to do for lunch."

His face lit up and he was obviously very relieved. "Great! Wanna go right now? It's about noon."

I nodded and he walked over beside me, putting away his axe. "I'm going on lunch break!" he yelled over to Bo, who stared at us with an interesting expression. It made me a little self-conscious.

On the rest of the way to town, we didn't really talk much. Luke just walked along beside me with this huge smile on his face. He was pretty proud of himself for asking me to lunch. I found it rather amusing.

When we entered Waffle Town through the archway, I suddenly found myself really nervous. What if Gill was on lunch break at the Inn too? _Oh, Goddess,_ I thought. _Please please please don't let him be there!_ It would be horrible. I could just see it; he wouldn't talk to me for _days_.

Wait, why was I even thinking that way? I didn't care if Gill saw me on a lunch date with a friend. It's not like Luke and I were in a relationship other than friendship. Nor were _Gill_ and I. He wouldn't care either.

Of course, deep down I knew I was convincing myself of that.

Luckily my fears were washed away when we entered the Sundae Inn. Gill was not there. In fact, it was just Yolanda, Jake, Colleen and Maya. I silently breathed a sigh of relief. Come to think of it, I was glad Julius or Chase weren't there either.

Maya was staring at me with raised eyebrows, but she didn't say anything as Luke and I sat down. I tried not to let her bother me.

I was grateful when Luke broke the awkward silence by asking how I liked it here on Waffle Island. We began a heated conversation that lasted for most of the meal.

After we stopped laughing during one point, he asked, "So, how do you like the food? Do you want some more?"

"It's great," I said sincerely. "Sure, I'll have more."

He blinked in mild surprise. "Wow, most girls would've said something about being on a diet. That's cool you're not into that."

I laughed. "That's cool you think so."

At about two o'clock, Luke seemed to notice the time. "Ah, crap, I'd better get back to work," he said, seeming a bit embarrassed.

"That's all right," I said understandingly. "I have more cake to give out, anyway."

He nodded. "See you later?"

I smiled. "Yeah, see you later." After he left, I went back upstairs to my room for a little while to get some more cake. I marveled at Julius' flowers, which were sitting in a vase, all tidy. When I came back downstairs, I saw Chase had started work. I pulled out his cake.

"Hi, Chase! I didn't know you started work so late."

He looked up from a cookbook he was reading and smiled. "Hey. I forgot you didn't know what time I started work. I get here around two-thirty, which was just a few minutes ago."

"I see. Here, happy Thanksgiving!"

"For me?" He stared at the orange cake. "How'd you know I like this? Well, thanks. I love it!"

I smiled. "I thought I heard you mention you were fond of oranges when we cooked together that one night."

"Did I? Huh, I'm glad you remembered, then." Chase accepted the cake. "Speaking of that night... would you like to help me again today?"

Somehow I knew that was coming. I couldn't just say no! And there was really no way Gill could find out... "OK," I agreed, feeling sneaky. "But only for a few hours. I have some more cake to give out." I was planning on making one last stop at the Town Hall right before they closed to give Mayor Hamilton, Elli, and Gill their cake.

Chase said that was fine, and we spent a fun two hours preparing meals. I was relieved to detect no flirty attitude or indication he wanted to be more than just friends.

It was 4:30 when I left the Inn. Just enough time to hand out cake and chat for a bit with everyone at the Town Hall. This was the visit I was looking forward to the most.

"Starri! Where have you been?" Elli met me at the door to Town Hall and hugged me. "I thought you were coming sooner." She frowned at me.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said, suddenly feeling bad. I hadn't told her my plans for today, had I? "That was rude of me."

"Well, don't worry yourself over it!" Her expression turned annoyed. I laughed. Then her voice got low and she murmured in my ear, "Gill's been restless all day, probably worse than I was!" She waggled her eyebrows and snickered. I tried to control the color of my face; Gill was _right there_ at the counter, staring at us. At me, mostly.

I pulled out Elli's cake to change the subject. Her face lit up. "_There_ it is! Jeez, you sure took your time getting here, huh?" she said jokingly. "Thanks, Starri. Your cake's the best. And..." She looked around, seemingly confused. "Oh yeah, I left your cake over there."

I followed Elli over behind the counter, and I gave Mayor Hamilton his cake as she retrieved mine. When she came back and gave me my chocolate cake (since she figured I'd be getting a lot of strawberry shortcake), we got in a conversation with Mayor Hamilton about the cake he had made that he claimed hadn't tasted very good, but Gill still choked down.

Gill himself didn't partake in the talking much. He was... I wouldn't say "unusually quiet". He just seemed even more closed up than normal. I kept throwing half questioning, half concerned glances his way, but he was never looking my way. Strange that I could've sworn I felt his eyes on me every time I turned away.

The conversation carried on right until closing time. I still hadn't given Gill his cake. So when Elli and Mayor Hamilton left, I said my goodbyes but lingered behind to wait for Gill. He gathered his things and walked over to where I stood by the door, raising an eyebrow expectantly. "Well? Why'd you wait for me?"

I had to grin, but I tried to hide it by ducking my face as I brought out Gill's cake. "Here, I never got a chance to give it to you."

His mouth quirked as he took it, and I wasn't sure if he was trying to smile or frown. "Starri, you haven't eaten a single bite of cake today, have you?"

I blinked as I realized I hadn't. Elli's cake was still in my hands, and I hadn't picked up the offer Jake made me that morning. "No, I don't suppose I have," I said with a sheepish smile. I wondered what he was getting at.

"And I bet you Elli was the only person who gave you a cake in return."

"Well, no," I started to protest. "Jake at the Inn offered me a free one that I'm going to pick up once I get back."

Gill was silent for a moment. "Speaking of the Sundae Inn, I heard you had lunch with Luke today."

I stiffened. "How do you know about that?"

"Elli," he said curtly.

"But... How did _she_ find out?"

"I think she said something about Maya."

My spirits sank. The image of Maya exiting the the building while Luke and I were eating entered my head. I hadn't thought much of it at the time, but she probably went straight to the Town Hall to report to Elli. "We're... we're just friends..." I said defeatedly. "Really. It was a friend date."

He cast me a sideways glance and then shook his head, opening the door. "Why would I care?"

Right. I felt quite dumb all of a sudden. But then why would he bring it up if he didn't care?

Suddenly I gasped in delight and ran outside to the middle of the square as he locked the door. "It's snowing!" I said happily, raising my face to the sky.

Gill looked at me quizzically. "It snowed last week."

"I know," I said. "This just seems more special, somehow." _Like it snowed for us. _My own thoughts startled me, and I hoped my face hadn't colored.

He let out a huff of cloudy breath and came to stand beside me. "Snow is troublesome. It doesn't do us any good."

I frowned at him. "Of course it does us good. It lifts spirits and makes kids happy. It makes me happy too."

"That's because you have such a childish personality," Gill insisted stubbornly. But as I peered at him through narrowed eyes with my tongue sticking out, I saw a corner of his mouth curving upward.

My face returned to a normal expression as he brought something into view from his side that wasn't facing toward me. I hadn't noticed he had been hiding something.

"Well, here," he said, holding out a piece of strawberry shortcake. He didn't look into my eyes. "Happy Thanksgiving."

I took the cake and smiled so wide I could hardly believe my mouth could get that big. "Thanks, Gilly," I managed in a squeak. I believed this was proof I had cracked that bothersome nutshell. But inside, I was _so happy_ that I was confused.

"You've been... Really nice to me. Minus the teasing. But, you're a lot nicer than a lot of people. And..." He paused for a second. "Yeah. That's why I'm thankful. That you came here, that is." Gill's intense blue eyes turned to lock with mine.

I could tell that was difficult for him to get out, but I was also positive that was not all he had been meaning to say. We stood there for a long moment, just staring at each other, and then Gill broke the silence by clearing his throat. "I should get back home."

Then he walked away into the darkening evening, leaving me staring after him. My heart was fluttering like the snow, which was coming down harder.

And suddenly, I was certain of one thing. I was falling for Gill.

No, I had already fallen for him. Hard.

The next day there was a snowstorm. Work was canceled, causing for a long day at the Sundae Inn for me to look forward to. So I took the chance to take it easy for a day. I spent most of the morning talking to Kathy and Maya. And mulling over my newfound realization of the night before.

"So, Starri, is there something going on between you and Luke?" Maya startled me out of my thoughts.

Oh yeah. She was the one who told Elli about the lunch date with him yesterday, who then, of course, told Gill. I couldn't say I was thrilled.

"What makes you think that?" Kathy asked before I could answer.

"They came here for lunch yesterday. Together," Maya informed the golden-haired girl.

I suddenly felt very annoyed. At Maya and Elli, mostly, for assuming I was "together" with practically every guy I was seen with. Especially when it was _Gill_ I liked, not any of them. Couldn't I just have friends?

But they didn't know that. I tried to calm myself down. I smiled and shook my head. "No, Maya, we're just friends," I said in such a matter-of-fact tone that Maya couldn't think of anything to say to suggest otherwise.

"Oh, good," Kathy said, sounding half-jokingly relieved. "Because I always thought you and Gill would make an adorable couple." She and Maya started laughing, but my face flushed so hard they stopped and raised their eyebrows.

"What's this? Does Starri actually like Gill?" Kathy asked.

Before I could even think about what to say to that, the front door opened, letting in a gust of freezing wind and a flurry of swirling snowflakes. We all turned to look at who it was, and there was Gill. Why was it that practically every time I thought of him he showed up?

"Gill?" all three of us said at once, though my voice was an octave higher than usual. I hoped my face wasn't red anymore.

"...Hi," he replied after a moment. "Um, I just came... To see how you guys were faring with the blizzard."

Obviously he really had no idea why he was here. Or, at least, he hadn't rehearsed very well.

Kathy raised an eyebrow disbelievingly, then her green eyes slid over to me. Then to Gill. And back to me. "Hey, Maya," she said slowly. "I wanna show you something. Upstairs. Let's go."

Looking a little confused, the petite girl shrugged and followed Kathy upstairs. If I hadn't been blushing before, I probably was now.

Gill stared after the two girls with slightly narrowed eyes. It seemed only Maya didn't catch that Kathy was just trying to get him and I alone.

"Want to sit down?" I attempted to change the subject, my voice still squeaky. This was the first I'd seen Gill since last night, when I realized "that". It felt strange to even think the words, "I'm in love with Gill".

He looked at me funny. "You feeling all right? Your face looks kind of red." He came over to sit next to me.

Aw, great. I was making a total fool of myself. Why did I have to focus on the fact that I had feelings for Gill? If I could stop obsessing over that, things wouldn't be any different than before. Which I wanted.

"It does?" I pretended to be unaware and forced my voice back to its normal pitch. "Well, I'm fine. Why are you here, anyway?"

Now two splotches of pink appeared on his cheeks. "I already told you. I came here to see how you were holding up with the storm."

A tiny smile found its way onto my face and I didn't say anything.

Gill was starting to look flustered. "I-It's not like I was worried about you or anything."

I had to laugh. He was so funny sometimes, trying to deny anything nice he did.

For most of the afternoon Gill hung around, helping me with various chores and just talking with people. I think the main reason he even left was because he got fed up with Kathy and Maya teasing him about liking me. I am proud to say I controlled the color of my face most of the time. Gill hadn't seemed to master that yet, though.

Which got me thinking. _Did_ Gill possibly have feelings for me in return? I was pretty sure he thought of me as a friend, but I couldn't be positive of anything else. I wasn't even sure of how I would react if he did like me back. Happy, I guess. But it would be weird. Very weird indeed.

This whole business of having a crush once again brought old feelings - but stronger this time - from my childhood flooding back. I didn't have the urge to go chase Gill around a playground like I did Gray, but he was always on my mind. Soon it began to get on my nerves. Every time I ran into Gill at work I swear I nearly jumped ten feet into the air.

Meanwhile, back at the Inn, my hammer lay enticingly against one of the walls of my room. I really had to use that thing before it rusted or something.

One day as I found myself staring at the poor neglected tool, I came up with a brilliant plan. That Sunday, the fifteenth, I would go up to the mine and try out the hammer if the weather allowed. That scored two points; finally being able to use the hammer and hopefully getting my mind of Gill, even if only for a little while.

When I mentioned going to the mine to Elli, Gill, of course, overheard.

"I never did like the mines... Suit yourself if you really want to go, though," he said with a frown.

It disappointed me to see him scowl like that, but I really did want to go. So on Sunday morning I was off to Ganache Mine. I was hoping to catch Owen there and maybe get a few tips from him before heading down.

Unfortunately I didn't see him when I got there. But Calvin and Phoebe were there. They told me how to tell if an ore had any value, the floors that had some unusual qualities or more likely to have good items, and what to eat (or what not to eat) if I got tired.

"Thank you! That was a lot of help. I'll keep everything in mind," I promised.

"Good luck!" Calvin and Phoebe said at the same time.

Smiling, I turned and headed down the first flight of stairs.

My immediate reaction was, _Whoa, it's kinda dark down here._ Then I set my jaw and headed for the other side of the shaft. Phoebe had said the deeper you go, the easier it was to find more valuable ores.

I had gone down about ten floors with only finding two good copper ores. I couldn't say I was impressed so far. But I was determined to find some cool stuff, so I told myself I wouldn't leave until I found at least some sparkly Wonderfuls. I came here for gems, and I was coming out with some no matter what!

Around another eight floors later, I was beginning to doubt my decision. I had no idea how long I had been in the mine, and I was starting to get tired. I tried eating the mushrooms Calvin had said were edible, but I nearly gagged every time I tried to swallow a bite and I didn't feel all that rejuvenated after finishing them.

Despondently, I turned to head back towards the stairs leading to the surface. I supposed I could come back next Sunday, but I was still pretty disappointed.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't pay much attention to my surroundings. All I heard was a loud _crack_, then next thing I knew I was on the ground, disoriented. Sharp pain coursed through my ankle and I had to grind my teeth together to keep from crying out. A glance over my shoulder showed me my foot was at an angle it was not supposed to be at.

I felt something hit my head lightly, and I looked up to see a hole in the ceiling. I had fallen down a pit fall. Grit and debris crumbled from the edges, falling directly on my head. Silently, I cursed myself. Calvin and Phoebe had told me specifically to look out for cracks in the floor, and I had been really good about it until I just had to get all depressed and distracted. I was so mad at myself. How was I ever going to get out of this stupid mess? _Ugh, I should've listened to Gill..._

Soon I began to get annoyed at the tiny pieces of rubble falling on me. I figured I could at least try to stand up, but I had no such luck. I actually let out a yelp and fell to the ground almost immediately. I wondered if I had broken my foot or just sprained it. Sighing, I slowly dragged myself to the wall of the shaft, which was thankfully not too far away.

I don't know how long I sat there feeling hopeless, but in no time I was getting very drowsy. And hungry. Both of these facts sort of scared me. What if someone came for me and didn't see me? I needed to stay awake so I could call out if I heard anything. And if I was already hungry... How long would it be before I starved to death? Maybe I'd have to choke down some mushrooms once my ankle was better. But what if it was broken, and would take weeks to heal? I'd be long dead by then. It didn't help much that I hadn't had lunch or dinner.

With every sentence I thought I was getting more and more nervous and worried. _At least I'm keeping myself awake,_ I couldn't help but think wryly.

Time limped along horribly slow. Well, maybe it was going fast; I couldn't tell. No light from the surface could reach down this deep. I wasn't even sure what time it was. All I knew was that I was tired, hungry, in pain, and it felt like the temperature was dropping. Lovely, just what I needed on top of everything else. I hesitantly drew my legs up so I could wrap my hands around my knees. My attempt sort of backfired, though, since my foot was sticking out at an awkward angle in order for it not to hurt any worse.

Some bats startled me a few times, but I got even more freaked out when I heard something that sounded like footsteps, coming from the pit fall hole. But... maybe it was someone looking for me! I couldn't be too cautious, though.

"Is someone there?" I called out anxiously. The thudding stopped.

"Starri?"

_Oh my gosh, that sounds like Gill._ My heart started beating faster. "_Gill?_" I replied incredulously.

The footsteps resumed, more quickly this time and headed directly at the pit fall. Gill's bleach blonde head finally popped through the gap in the ceiling, looked around for a moment, then saw me. The look of relief on his face - well, he didn't try and hide it at all. My face was probably the same. I felt like crying I was so happy.

"You don't know how glad I am to have found you. Everyone's been worried sick. Wait just a second, I'm going to find the stairs leading down there." His face disappeared, and I heard his footsteps retreating up above. My heart started racing again, and I had to reassure myself, _He'll be back. He's coming right now._

Soon Gill was running towards me from one end of the enormous shaft I had fallen into. "Are you hurt?" he asked once he got close enough, kneeling down beside me.

I was speechless for the moment, and instead of telling him about my ankle right away I threw my arms around him. I squeezed my eyes shut. Maybe I wouldn't die after all.

"You okay?" he asked more quietly, putting his hands on my shoulders and pushing me back gently so he could look me in the eye.

I swallowed hard, then shrugged. "A lot better now that you're here," I said with a little laugh. "I was being dumb and not looking where I was going, and I fell down through there." I gestured to the hole in the ceiling Gill had been looking through not too long ago. "I twisted my ankle pretty badly. I dunno if it's broken or just sprained, but it sure hurts."

"I see. Can you stand up?"

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Really, Gill, if I could stand up I'd be out of here by now. What time is it, anyway?"

"Sorry," he said. "And it should be around midnight by now."

Wow, I had been in this dumb mine for over twelve hours. "Are there other people out looking for me?"

Gill suddenly looked a little guilty. "Um, they're planning on searching for you in the morning."

I stared at him, slightly confused. "So what are you doing here?"

He looked away, embarrassed. "I knew you wouldn't like being down here for a whole night alone. And I didn't know if you were hurt or not... What?" He noticed me looking at him almost expectantly.

"Does anyone know you're here?" I asked, kind of already guessing his answer.

"...No," he admitted.

"What were you thinking?" I wasn't mad; just a little mystified. It wasn't like Gill not to think things through.

"I don't really know," he muttered. "But I'm here now. Nothing to do about it. So you sure you can't stand?"

I nodded.

He got a troubled look on his face. "I could carry you...?"

I almost snorted. "I don't think so, not with those skinny arms."

"I'm not _that_ weak," he objected.

"I wasn't finished," I said. "Considering how deep we are in the mine, I don't think even a buff guy like Owen could carry me up all the way."

"We'd take breaks," Gill persisted.

"You'd end up hurting yourself too, and then we'd both be stuck down here!" I cried.

Finally he gave up, begrudgingly. "Then what do you propose we do? I guess I could go back up by myself and tell people where you are."

My eyes widened slightly and I reached out to clutch his arm. "Don't." I did _not_ want to be alone in this creepy mine again. It could take hours and hours for someone to get down the the level I was on, especially when they were originally planning on searching for me in the morning.

"All right, all right," he said, taking my hand to release my grip on his arm. He looked somewhat surprised at my serious answer. "But I don't know how you - or we - are going to get out of here."

"Well, you said people were going to search for me in the morning. Could you maybe..." I hesitated, suddenly nervous. Was this a stupid idea? What if he refused? "Stay with me until someone else gets here?"

Gill sighed. "Okay. But if nobody's here in..." He thought for a moment. "Eight hours, then I'm carrying you to the top. Agreed?"

"Agreed," I said automatically, though I still wasn't fond of the idea of Gill carrying me. Not that it seemed embarrassing; more of that I was worried for him. No offense to him, but Gill never struck me as one of the strongest people around. I've been wrong before, though... but still.

"Might as well get comfortable," he said with another sigh, scooting over next to me. "Or at least as comfortable as one can get in a cold, damp mine."

Without second thoughts I leaned against Gill. "Ah, you're really warm..." I said, feeling like I was in heaven. It felt wonderful to have warmth again after who knows how many hours sitting in the frigid air.

Gill was attempting to hide his squeamishness. My mouth formed a faint, amused smile. Man, I was really tired...

"Starri," he suddenly said harshly. "Don't fall asleep. You could get hypothermia without me knowing." When I didn't immediately reply, he slightly shook my shoulder.

He hadn't done it very hard, but it was enough to shift my ankle since I was half-asleep and my limbs were limp. I took a sharp inhale and my eyes fully opened as fresh pain seared up my leg. "Ouch," I hissed tightly, barely audible.

Gill's eyes widened. "Sorry! Did I jar your ankle? Are you OK?"

After a moment I let out my breath as the pain faded away and I nodded. "Just don't do that again."

"Sorry," he repeated. "But you really can't fall asleep. Ugh, I should've brought some Stay-Awake..."

"Keep me awake, then," I suggested half-heartedly. All I really wanted to do was to go to sleep, but in the back of my mind I knew I should listen to Gill. If I fell asleep, I might not ever wake up again. One of my goals was to get out of there alive, thank you.

"How?"

"How else? Talk," I murmured, already starting to drift off.

"Um..." he started, hurriedly brainstorming topics. "I heard you're a good cook...?" He rambled on about how Chase and Yolanda praised my culinary skills whenever he saw them, but it wasn't interesting enough to keep me awake. I let out a large yawn and my head slumped against his shoulder, only to be shaken like before. I gritted my teeth against the pain.

Gill had to resort to poking my head to keep it upright every time it slid down, and he repeatedly muttered, "Stay awake, stay awake, you've got to stay awake..."

"You're boring," I remarked during one point. He rolled his eyes and kept at his chant. All he was accomplishing was annoying me and possibly making me even more tired.

A while later Gill finally seemed to grow exasperated with constantly saying "stay awake". Or, at least he stopped for a bit. He still continued to poke my head, though.

"Starri," he said, startling me out of my half-asleep-ness. I was starting to get used to the poking.

"Hm?" I mumbled drowsily.

"I don't think I told you that I like your name." The poking stopped.

What was that? My eyes flicked open. Maybe this would be interesting enough as to keep me awake.

"But... When I first met you... You said my name was weird," I recalled, confused.

"It is strange," he agreed. "But that's kind of what makes it a good name."

My eyes slowly slid over to his face. He had a small smile on it and was looking at me in a way I'd never seen him do before.

"You're not just saying that to keep me awake," I ventured suspiciously.

"No," he said, sounding slightly offended. His smile disappeared, and it turned into a tiny frown. "Lately, Starri, I haven't been able to get you off my mind... And... I want to spend every minute with you." He blushed. "Wait, that sounded really weird. Forget I said it."

I had to laugh, but I was blushing too. Was Gill trying to admit he liked me? Well, I was sure awake now.

"And from the very beginning, when you first moved here and started working at the Town Hall, even when I was being rude and unsociable, you seemed determined to befriend me. You're always so nice to me, and I don't know why. I don't deserve it. Why? Why waste your kindness on someone like me?"

My mouth broke out in a wide smile. I sat up a little straighter and turned my head so I was fully facing Gill's troubled face. "Take a hint, silly," I said with a grin. "I _like_ you." Then I leaned in and kissed him right on the lips, before I could lose my nerve.

I had never kissed anyone before, and it felt pretty nice. I guessed Gill hadn't either; the color and expression on his face were pretty priceless when I pulled away.

Gill was obviously at a total loss for words. I didn't think there was much to say, though. My smile was permanent for the time being, and I scooted closer to snuggle up to Gill's side, my ankle temporarily forgotten. "Thanks for keeping me awake," I said humorously. I was confident I wouldn't doze off for now, so I closed my eyes. I had way too much excitement buzzing inside me to fall asleep. Gill liked me back! He hadn't said it directly, but that didn't matter. He basically said it when he told me he "wanted to be with me every minute". Remembering him saying that and being so ecstatic caused me to have to restrain myself from breaking out into a fit of giggles.

I almost forgot about the situation we were in. Down at least twenty floors in a dangerous mine, with me on the verge of catching hypothermia and with a sprained - or possibly broken - ankle, and Gill not really able to do anything about it since I wouldn't let him go up to the surface alone or carry me up. And yet here we were, confessing we had feelings for one another. How weird was that? What a story I would have to tell in the future.

It couldn't have been more than an hour later when Gill broke the long silence my kiss had put us in to. "All right, if no one's here in a half-hour," he reminded me. "I'm carrying you." I nodded, only half-taking in what he said. I was starting to get sleepy again.

I was able to doze off for a little while without Gill noticing, and was woken up when he started to move. "It's been a while now," he notified me, getting ready to stand up. I inwardly groaned. He was going to get us in even more of a precarious situation if he really did try and carry me all the way to the surface. But I supposed there was no use in arguing; I was pretty powerless. I couldn't even stand up. And I really did want to get the heck out of this stupid mine.

Suddenly Gill froze. "What was that?" he asked in a lowered tone. My eyes widened and I shrugged, worried now. What if there was something lurking around in the dark? Something... Evil? I tried to strain my ears to listen intently.

_Oh, stop it,_ I thought to myself. _I_ am_ really childish. There's no such thing as monsters._ But... there _were_ vampire bats in caves - in mines like this one. Vampire bats! Ack! Why did I have to think of that?

Gill got to his feet all the way and moved to stand in front of me protectively. I would've blushed if I wasn't so freaked out.

Then I heard what Gill was presumably talking about. It was a dull thudding noise up above us - exactly like I had heard when Gill found me. "Gill," I hissed, not bothering to use his nickname. I wasn't sure why I was making an effort to be quiet. "There's nothing to be worried about. That's probably someone looking for us!"

As if on cue, a familiar voice called out, "Starri? Gill? Either of you down here?" before Gill could reply.

"Owen!" I cried. "Down here! We're both here!"

Soon Owen's red head was looking down through the pit fall hole just as Gill had done, staring at both of us instead of only me.

"Wow, we were all worried when you went missing, Starri," Owen said breathlessly. "But when Gill disappeared too... Jeez!" He noticed us staring at him impatiently and got back on task. "I'll be there in a second."

Gill turned to look at me in relief.

I smiled. "Looks like you won't have to carry me."

"To tell you the truth, I was getting my doubts about that," he laughed half-hollowly. I could tell he was amazed someone actually came.

That was the first time I'd heard Gill laugh, come to think of it. I wished he'd do it more often.

When Owen got to us, Gill and him agreed to take turns letting me lean on them until we reached the top. If I got too exhausted, Owen would carry me. He was stronger than Gill, obviously. I felt more comfortable with him carrying me than Gill, really only because Gill would end up hurting himself too.

After lots of careful stepping and painful flights of stairs Owen sometimes had to carry me up, we finally made it to the surface. The blast of cool, fresh Winter air and sunlight felt fantastic.

"Starri!" Elli shrieked. "You're alive!" She ran over to hug me before I was even done blinking to get used to the harsh light.

"Oof! Yeah, Elli, I'm all right," I laughed, removing one arm that had been clinging to Gill to partially hug my best friend back. I waited patiently for her to release her vice grip on me so I could breath normally again.

"Everyone's so worried." When she pulled back, Elli had tears in her eyes. I glanced around, and saw all the friends I had made were milling around, casting relieved looks my way. Luke, Julius, Bo, Chase, Dale, Yolanda, Colleen, Jake, Maya, Mayor Hamilton, Gray, Renee, Cain, Hanna... It was overwhelming. And it made me feel doubly guilty. I had made all these people cast aside their daily duties to fuss over me, all because I goofed and slipped on a pit fall.

"I'm so sorry I made all you guys concerned over me..." I said, ashamed and in awe at the same time.

"You deserve it," I heard Gill whisper in my ear. Trying not to blush, I shook my head, partly in disbelief and partly just to close my eyes. That sun sure was bright...

I wrapped my free arm around Gill again. "I don't feel so great," I suddenly stated, feeling sweat break out on my upper lip and a wave of dizziness wash over me. The last thing I remember seeing was Gill shooting an alarmed glance at Elli before it blacked out.

I woke up the next morning with a start from a dream I immediately forgot. I sat up in bed, grimacing at my achy muscles, and looked around. _The clinic...?_ I thought hazily, then saw Dr. Jin.

"Ah, good, you've regained consciousness," he said where he sat on a stool by the hospital bed I was in. Next to him was Gill, looking quite anxious.

"Uh, yeah," I murmured, barely audible. "What happened?"

"You passed out after we got you out of the mine," Gill reminded me. "And gave me and Elli another big scare."

"Sorry," I said sheepishly.

"You were exhausted from physical strain and lack of sleep," Dr. Jin said dismissively. "Don't be sorry. Be thankful you fainted with a lot of people around and not down in the mine. Then you would have been in real trouble."

I took that in for a moment, not sure how to reply, then suddenly remembered, "And what about my foot?"

"You ankle, you mean? You didn't break it, luckily, but you did sprain it pretty badly. I put a small cast on it that you only have to keep on for the next week."

"Oh, thanks," I said gratefully. "It feels a lot better."

"Well, that's what I'm here for. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some other business to attend to." The doctor gave a formal bow and left the room.

"I thought he'd never leave," Gill muttered. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hear that, but I giggled.

"He was fine," I said, smiling. "Dr. Jin is really quite kind."

Gill rolled his eyes. "You think everyone's friendly, Starri. Speaking of, sorta..." he started, clearing his throat and shifting awkwardly. "You don't... 'like' anyone else? Luke or Chase, for instance?"

I stared at him. "No, weirdo. I'm only friends with them. Why do you think I kissed you?"

He looked offended at me calling him a "weirdo" but relieved at the same time by my answer. "Good. So now that we're not in a potentially life-threatening scenario, I need to ask you..." He looked unsure for a second, then seemed to harden. "Go steady with me?"

It took me a second to register what he said, then I burst out laughing. Just the way he said it, especially after all that we'd been through...

Gill looked somewhat horrified at my response, and I started to feel bad. I think he was getting the wrong impression from my laughter. "Of course I will, you dope!" I managed after I settled down my urge to crack up any longer.

Gill's expression changed to infinitely relieved.

"Now come over here so I can kiss you again," I said jokingly.

Just as his face started to turn red, someone entered the room. Elli's face looked almost more relieved than Gill's had a second ago. "Ah, I'm so glad you're finally awake!" she said, plopping down on the stool Dr. Jin had been sitting on. "You feeling better?"

I nodded. "Very much so." Then I had to grin. "By the way, Gilly and I are 'going steady' now," I added abruptly. I think those two words, "going steady", would be forever hilarious to me.

Elli's eyes widened. "You are?" she gasped. "That's wonderful!" She stood up to come and hug me. "I knew you two were meant to be together."

Over her shoulder, I smiled and rolled my eyes at Gill, who looked uncomfortable. Yeah, right, she "knew we were meant for each other". Especially when she had been so insistent that I was dating Chase and Luke before.

Then she straightened up and turned to Gill. He looked bewildered by her stern expression. "You'd better treat her right, you hear me, mister? I hear one complaint from Starri and I'll..." she went on for a while about the punishments Gill would receive if she found out anything was going bad thanks to him in our relationship.

I laughed and leaned against my pillow and headboard of the hospital bed. I was fairly positive everything would be fine between Gill and me. In fact, I even had a strange little feeling he would probably be my first and last boyfriend.

**Epilogue**

My hunch was correct.

Only about a season later Gill proposed to me. It wasn't as weird as I'd thought it'd be, luckily. Full of a lot of happy tears from Elli, a surprised but very pleased Mayor Hamilton, and ecstatic parents over in Flower Bud Village, but not very "weird". In the sense I had imagined, at least.

We were married on Summer first. Remember that gift Owen said he was going to get me? He got it in the form of a wedding present. A _lot_ of people came to our wedding. I was glad to see that Luke and Julius seemed to be taking all of it all right, because, now that I thought about it, they both kind of liked me. Hopefully they'd find their special someone for real sooner or later.

Probably the strangest part of getting married was, first of all, realizing I would be _living _with Gill, then, secondly, introducing my parents to him. I had practically forgotten they didn't already know him. I had written so much about him in my letters, I guess somewhere in my mind I assumed they could then automatically know everything that went on between me and everyone else here on Waffle Island. Nothing could prepare me for the scrutinizing eye my father gave Gill the day my parents showed up to see my wedding.

"Dad," I complained when I got my parents alone. "Way to make Gill feel uncomfortable! I'm an adult now. I can take care of myself. Gill is fine. He's not gonna hurt me or anything."

Before my father could defend himself, my mom came over, a tear in her violet eye. "Oh, Starri. You'll always be our little girl." She hugged me and kissed me on the top of my head, her long brown hair falling over her shoulder. "I can't believe you're getting _married_!"

My dad just smiled and tousled my identical yellow hair to his when Mom let me go. "I can't help being a dad," he said for his excuse, winking one of his green eyes.

Right after we got married, Gill and I combined our money to buy a house on the plot of land in the Caramel River District on the small island that split the river into a fork before it entered the ocean. I started a garden since there was a huge area of fertile soil just begging to be used.

Everything was quiet for a while, until Winter came around again. I still very distinctly remember _"that"_ morning...

It was a beautiful, sunny day despite the snow. I had woken up just a few minutes earlier than usual and went outside to admire the weather and snow for a but. I was watching a bird fly by when suddenly my stomach cramped. I made a face and wondered if I'd eaten something bad last night.

Then Gill came out. He smiled and came over to stand beside me. "I don't really get the big deal about good weather, but I suppose if you like it..."

I scoffed and nudged him. "Thanks for ruining the moment," I said light-heartedly, trying not to show I wasn't feeling all that great.

But of course, Gill caught on straight away. He looked at me skeptically. "You look pale. Are you all right? Don't lie to me," he added sternly.

"I'm okay. I don't feel the best," I admitted. "But I'll be better as the day goes by."

"We're going to the clinic," Gill said immediately.

I sighed. "Did you hear what I just said, Gilly? I'll be fine."

"No. What could be minor, could turn into something worse. Let's go," he said firmly.

Finally I gave in. Gill was just stubborn, and I was certain nothing was wrong, but what harm could it do? If it would satisfy him, fine.

Well, turned out neither of us were quite right or wrong. I wasn't sick, exactly, but I supposed it was a good thing Gill had insisted on taking me to the doctor after all.

If only every person on Waffle Island had seen the look of astonishment on Gill's face. I would've cried laughing so hard if I hadn't been so shocked as well. It wasn't until much later I realized how off-guard he had been caught.

"Are you serious?" Gill made out after we stared at Irene in disbelief for a minute or two. "You're not joking?"

Irene looked somewhat puzzled and amused. "Absolutely not. Why would I joke about something like that?"

My husband turned to stare at me. "Then... I'm going to be a father. We're going to be _parents_!"

"I guess so..." I said, in a bit of a daze as well. "Wow." My eyes traveled down to my stomach to gaze at it in wonder. According to Irene, I was _pregnant_. Jeez, and I thought it was bad food...

Finally I came to my senses and smiled at the old woman. "Thank you, Irene."

The nurse smiled back. "Anytime. I'm sure you two will make wonderful parents."

Outside, Gill was at a loss for words, even more so than the time I had first kissed him. I didn't blame him.

Suddenly I let out a short ironic laugh, just remembering something. "Happy birthday, Gilly."

He stared at me again for a moment, then a smile crept onto his lips. "I thought I told you no more surprises."

I grinned but couldn't help it and lightly blushed. "I said no promises."

"Well, I guess I can live with this one," Gill reasoned, pulling me close and kissing my cheek. Keeping his arm around my shoulders, we started walking to work.

Elli completely freaked out. That's really the only way to describe her reaction when we explained our reason for being late, you could say. She almost seemed more excited about this news than Gill and me. For the rest of the day we were subjected to name suggestions every other sentence from her. It got a little annoying, frankly, though I did tuck away a few names in my mind for future reference.

Mayor Hamilton - erm, my father-in-law (it was still strange referring to him as that) - was pretty surprised, but overall he was delighted. My parents, on the other hand, weren't prepared. They thought it would be a few years before they received the news they were going to be grandparents, not a mere two seasons. But I pointed out there wasn't much they could do about it, so they arranged to sail over a week or two before the baby was due.

On Spring second, Gill and I's daughter Trisha was born. She had beautiful bleach-blonde hair like her father and my purple eyes. Five years later, I was due on Fall sixth for a baby boy. Adrian ended up with yellow hair and blue eyes, opposite of his older sibling.

And thus three years later Gill and I found ourselves in the main room of our house, him sitting at the table with eight-year-old Trisha and me tending to Adrian in his highchair.

I kept making silly faces and blowing raspberries at him, trying to get him to laugh. It was pretty easy; Adrian was a giggly toddler. Gill and Trisha cast amused glances my way from time to time at my expressions, then returned to reading. I had to smile. Trisha was sure taking after her dad. She was incredibly smart, and serious-minded about most subjects. Though I'm glad to say she was much less... Rude, to strangers. That was a relief. I could only wish the same for Adrian.

"Twisha!" Adrian shouted proudly for no apparent reason. He beamed at us. Gill and I laughed.

"That's right," Gill encouraged his son. "Trisha's your sister." He turned to me. "He's really smart."

"That's what you said about Trisha, too," I chuckled.

Just seeming to notice her name being mentioned, Trisha looked up from her book and peered at me through her glasses. She had been oblivious to her brother and father an me until then. "What?" she asked, blinking her pretty lavender eyes. "Did you say my name?"

I smiled affectionately at her. "We were just talking about how smart you were when you were a baby," I explained.

"Are you saying she's not smart now?" Gill asked, pretending to be offended on her behalf.

"No!" I laughed. "Trisha, you're the most intelligent girl I know."

Looking bashful, she didn't say anything in return. Adrian squealed to break the silence and win back my attention; he was hungry again. I rewarded him with a spoonful of soft corn from his bowl and resumed making funny faces at him.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. "That must be him!" I announced, then got up to answer it. Mayor Hamilton stood there.

"Hi, Father," Gill said as he came to stand next to me. "Thanks for watching the kids while we're out. It's a big help."

"Are you sure it's not interfering with anything?" I pressed somewhat fretfully. He _was_ the mayor, after all.

"No, no," he assured me. "It's my pleasure! I don't get to see my grandchildren every day. I should really spend more time with them."

"All right, if you say so," I agreed, still doubtful.

"Stowy, stowy!" we all heard Adrian say gleefully as he caught sight of his grandfather. He associated Mayor Hamilton with story time nowadays.

Gill's father laughed. "That's right, I have a story to tell you today." He headed inside. "Hello, Trisha. My, you've grown!"

"Hello, Grandpa," she said quietly, her shyness getting the better of her even with her own relatives.

Gill put his arm around me. "It's fine. If there's an emergency in town - which there won't be - people know where he is. They'll call," he told me, trying to quench my fear that Hamilton was neglecting his mayor-ly duties by babysitting for us tonight.

"I guess you're right," I gave in, nodding. "But next time let's have Luke do it. He's been wanting to babysit for us for a while."

Gill rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Let's go, before we miss it."

"All right. Bye, everyone!" he said, waving to our children. "We'll try and be back by ten." We didn't want to stay out too late now that we had kids to take care of. Plus, we had work tomorrow. Well, I got an altered schedule so Adrian didn't have to be home alone that long. Trisha had school for most of the day, so I didn't worry about her as much.

Yes, you heard me. Now that most of the younger generation on the island had gotten married and had kids, they were all going to school at the Town Hall. Gill had his hands full as their teacher. I noticed Trisha taking a liking to Angie, Julius and Candace's daughter, and Heath, Calvin and Phoebe's son. So far Gill and I were the only ones with two children. I kind of hoped that would change, so Adrian wouldn't have to be by himself when it came time for him to start school. But there was nothing I could do about it, so I tried not to let it bother me too much.

I blew a kiss into the house, then Gill and I set off for Brownie Ranch for the Starry Night Festival. It was my favorite festival of the whole year, no, not because it had my name in its title. Stars had always fascinated me, and I loved to peace and quiet of just sitting there in the snow, watching them for a whole night. They were very beautiful things, and I was honored to be named after them. If I hadn't already been named Starri, I probably would've named Trisha that whether Gill liked it or not.

When we arrived at the big tree at Brownie Ranch and sat down, I sighed. "Wow, who would've thought that nine years after our first festival together, we'd be married with two kids?" I marveled, remembering the first time we went to this festival a little more than a week after we began dating.

Gill shook his head and smiled. "I know I never thought of that."

I giggled and leaned against him, gazing up at the sky in content silence for a bit. Then I suddenly frowned. "Gill?"

"What?"

"I don't feel so good."

He sat up straighter and looked at me with a mixture of alarm and nervousness on his face. I could practically read his thoughts; _A third time?_ "R-Really?"

I stared solemnly into his eyes for a minute, then couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing. "I'm joking, I'm joking!"

Gill put a hand to his forehead and slumped down. "Jeez, don't do that, Starri."

"You're such a worrywart," I said teasingly.

"Well, I'm just looking out for you," he said, somewhat flustered. "So you're sure you feel okay?"

"...Actually, no."


	3. Epilogue

My hunch was correct.

Only about a season later Gill proposed to me. It wasn't as weird as I'd thought it'd be, luckily. Full of a lot of happy tears from Elli, a surprised but very pleased Mayor Hamilton, and ecstatic parents over in Flower Bud Village, but not very "weird". In the sense I had imagined, at least.

We were married on Summer first. Remember that gift Owen said he was going to get me? He got it in the form of a wedding present. A lot of people came to our wedding. I was glad to see that Luke and Julius seemed to be taking all of it all right, because, now that I thought about it, they both kind of liked me. Hopefully they'd find their special someone for real sooner or later.

Probably the strangest part of getting married was, first of all, realizing I would be living with Gill, then, secondly, introducing my parents to him. I had practically forgotten they didn't already know him. I had written so much about him in my letters, I guess somewhere in my mind I assumed they could then automatically know everything that went on between me and everyone else here on Waffle Island. Nothing could prepare me for the scrutinizing eye my father gave Gill the day my parents showed up to see my wedding.

"Dad," I complained when I got my parents alone. "Way to make Gill feel uncomfortable! I'm an adult now. I can take care of myself. Gill is fine. He's not gonna hurt me or anything."

Before my father could defend himself, my mom came over, a tear in her violet eye. "Oh, Starri. You'll always be our little girl." She hugged me and kissed me on the top of my head, her long brown hair falling over her shoulder. "I can't believe you're getting married!"

My dad just smiled and tousled my identical yellow hair to his when Mom let me go. "I can't help being a dad," he said for his excuse, winking one of his green eyes.

Right after we got married, Gill and I combined our money to buy a house on the plot of land in the Caramel River District on the small island that split the river into a fork before it entered the ocean. I started a garden since there was a huge area of fertile soil just begging to be used.

Everything was quiet for a while, until Winter came around again. I still very distinctly remember "that" morning...

It was a beautiful, sunny day despite the snow. I had woken up just a few minutes earlier than usual and went outside to admire the weather and snow for a but. I was watching a bird fly by when suddenly my stomach cramped. I made a face and wondered if I'd eaten something bad last night.

Then Gill came out. He smiled and came over to stand beside me. "I don't really get the big deal about good weather, but I suppose if you like it..."

I scoffed and nudged him. "Thanks for ruining the moment," I said light-heartedly, trying not to show I wasn't feeling all that great.

But of course, Gill caught on straight away. He looked at me skeptically. "You look pale. Are you all right? Don't lie to me," he added sternly.

"I'm okay. I don't feel the best," I admitted. "But I'll be better as the day goes by."

"We're going to the clinic," Gill said immediately.

I sighed. "Did you hear what I just said, Gilly? I'll be fine."

"No. What could be minor, could turn into something worse. Let's go," he said firmly.

Finally I gave in. Gill was just stubborn, and I was certain nothing was wrong, but what harm could it do? If it would satisfy him, fine.

Well, turned out neither of us were quite right or wrong. I wasn't sick, exactly, but I supposed it was a good thing Gill had insisted on taking me to the doctor after all.

If only every person on Waffle Island had seen the look of astonishment on Gill's face. I would've cried laughing so hard if I hadn't been so shocked as well. It wasn't until much later I realized how off-guard he had been caught.

"Are you serious?" Gill made out after we stared at Irene in disbelief for a minute or two. "You're not joking?"

Irene looked somewhat puzzled and amused. "Absolutely not. Why would I joke about something like that?"

My husband turned to stare at me. "Then... I'm going to be a father. We're going to be parents!"

"I guess so..." I said, in a bit of a daze as well. "Wow." My eyes traveled down to my stomach to gaze at it in wonder. According to Irene, I was pregnant. Jeez, and I thought it was bad food...

Finally I came to my senses and smiled at the old woman. "Thank you, Irene."

The nurse smiled back. "Anytime. I'm sure you two will make wonderful parents."

Outside, Gill was at a loss for words, even more so than the time I had first kissed him. I didn't blame him.

Suddenly I let out a short ironic laugh, just remembering something. "Happy birthday, Gilly."

He stared at me again for a moment, then a smile crept onto his lips. "I thought I told you no more surprises."

I grinned but couldn't help it and lightly blushed. "I said no promises."

"Well, I guess I can live with this one," Gill reasoned, pulling me close and kissing my cheek. Keeping his arm around my shoulders, we started walking to work.

Elli completely freaked out. That's really the only way to describe her reaction when we explained our reason for being late, you could say. She almost seemed more excited about this news than Gill and me. For the rest of the day we were subjected to name suggestions every other sentence from her. It got a little annoying, frankly, though I did tuck away a few names in my mind for future reference.

Mayor Hamilton - erm, my father-in-law (it was still strange referring to him as that) - was pretty surprised, but overall he was delighted. My parents, on the other hand, weren't prepared. They thought it would be a few years before they received the news they were going to be grandparents, not a mere two seasons. But I pointed out there wasn't much they could do about it, so they arranged to sail over a week or two before the baby was due.

On Spring second, Gill and I's daughter Trisha was born. She had beautiful bleach-blonde hair like her father and my purple eyes. Five years later, I was due on Fall sixth for a baby boy. Adrian ended up with yellow hair and blue eyes, opposite of his older sibling.

And thus three years later Gill and I found ourselves in the main room of our house, him sitting at the table with eight-year-old Trisha and me tending to Adrian in his highchair.

I kept making silly faces and blowing raspberries at him, trying to get him to laugh. It was pretty easy; Adrian was a giggly toddler. Gill and Trisha cast amused glances my way from time to time at my expressions, then returned to reading. I had to smile. Trisha was sure taking after her dad. She was incredibly smart, and serious-minded about most subjects. Though I'm glad to say she was much less... Rude, to strangers. That was a relief. I could only wish the same for Adrian.

"Twisha!" Adrian shouted proudly for no apparent reason. He beamed at us. Gill and I laughed.

"That's right," Gill encouraged his son. "Trisha's your sister." He turned to me. "He's really smart."

"That's what you said about Trisha, too," I chuckled.

Just seeming to notice her name being mentioned, Trisha looked up from her book and peered at me through her glasses. She had been oblivious to her brother and father an me until then. "What?" she asked, blinking her pretty lavender eyes. "Did you say my name?"

I smiled affectionately at her. "We were just talking about how smart you were when you were a baby," I explained.

"Are you saying she's not smart now?" Gill asked, pretending to be offended on her behalf.

"No!" I laughed. "Trisha, you're the most intelligent girl I know."

Looking bashful, she didn't say anything in return. Adrian squealed to break the silence and win back my attention; he was hungry again. I rewarded him with a spoonful of soft corn from his bowl and resumed making funny faces at him.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. "That must be him!" I announced, then got up to answer it. Mayor Hamilton stood there.

"Hi, Father," Gill said as he came to stand next to me. "Thanks for watching the kids while we're out. It's a big help."

"Are you sure it's not interfering with anything?" I pressed somewhat fretfully. He was the mayor, after all.

"No, no," he assured me. "It's my pleasure! I don't get to see my grandchildren every day. I should really spend more time with them."

"All right, if you say so," I agreed, still doubtful.

"Stowy, stowy!" we all heard Adrian say gleefully as he caught sight of his grandfather. He associated Mayor Hamilton with story time nowadays.

Gill's father laughed. "That's right, I have a story to tell you today." He headed inside. "Hello, Trisha. My, you've grown!"

"Hello, Grandpa," she said quietly, her shyness getting the better of her even with her own relatives.

Gill put his arm around me. "It's fine. If there's an emergency in town - which there won't be - people know where he is. They'll call," he told me, trying to quench my fear that Hamilton was neglecting his mayor-ly duties by babysitting for us tonight.

"I guess you're right," I gave in, nodding. "But next time let's have Luke do it. He's been wanting to babysit for us for a while."

Gill rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Let's go, before we miss it."

"All right. Bye, everyone!" he said, waving to our children. "We'll try and be back by ten." We didn't want to stay out too late now that we had kids to take care of. Plus, we had work tomorrow. Well, I got an altered schedule so Adrian didn't have to be home alone that long. Trisha had school for most of the day, so I didn't worry about her as much.

Yes, you heard me. Now that most of the younger generation on the island had gotten married and had kids, they were all going to school at the Town Hall. Gill had his hands full as their teacher. I noticed Trisha taking a liking to Angie, Julius and Candace's daughter, and Heath, Calvin and Phoebe's son. So far Gill and I were the only ones with two children. I kind of hoped that would change, so Adrian wouldn't have to be by himself when it came time for him to start school. But there was nothing I could do about it, so I tried not to let it bother me too much.

I blew a kiss into the house, then Gill and I set off for Brownie Ranch for the Starry Night Festival. It was my favorite festival of the whole year, no, not because it had my name in its title. Stars had always fascinated me, and I loved to peace and quiet of just sitting there in the snow, watching them for a whole night. They were very beautiful things, and I was honored to be named after them. If I hadn't already been named Starri, I probably would've named Trisha that whether Gill liked it or not.

When we arrived at the big tree at Brownie Ranch and sat down, I sighed. "Wow, who would've thought that nine years after our first festival together, we'd be married with two kids?" I marveled, remembering the first time we went to this festival a little more than a week after we began dating.

Gill shook his head and smiled. "I know I never thought of that."

I giggled and leaned against him, gazing up at the sky in content silence for a bit. Then I suddenly frowned. "Gill?"

"What?"

"I don't feel so good."

He sat up straighter and looked at me with a mixture of alarm and nervousness on his face. I could practically read his thoughts; A third time? "R-Really?"

I stared solemnly into his eyes for a minute, then couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing. "I'm joking, I'm joking!"

Gill put a hand to his forehead and slumped down. "Jeez, don't do that, Starri."

"You're such a worrywart," I said teasingly.

"Well, I'm just looking out for you," he said, somewhat flustered. "So you're sure you feel okay?"

"...Actually, no."


	4. Bug Catching Extra

I sighed happily and gazed up at the amazingly clear blue sky above me. This was perfect. Tilting my head, I caught sight of Gill in my peripheral vision sitting next to me. I smiled at him, feeling that now-familiar warm fuzz inside whenever I was around my boyfriend.

Boyfriend... It was still really strange referring to Gill as that. I mean, we never really talked about it, but we were "together". Ever since the incident in Ganache Mine, where he came looking for me when I went missing, and stayed with me until help came. During that time, I ended up kissing him. The memory was blurry now, so I don't really even remember quite how it happened. I just know that I kissed him, Gill didn't seem to mind, and then we knew we had feelings for each other. Voila! Oh, and the fact that he had asked me to "go steady" with him after the whole ordeal probably had something to do with it too.

"Why are you smiling like a dope?" he asked irritably, but I knew he didn't mean any harm by the rude comment. I giggled in reply. He shook his head. "And now you're laughing like one too."

I turned my full purple gaze to him. "But isn't that why we're friends?"

He sighed, but the corners of his mouth curved upwards. "I suppose it is. How about you eat something?"

I glanced down at the wonderful selection of delectables Gill had made especially for this picnic. It was Sunday, the eighth of Spring, so we both had the day off. Elli, for reasons unbeknownst to me and Gill, had arranged it for us. Which was kind of sad, if you think about it, someone having to plan our dates for us. Technically, it was our first date, even though we'd been together since the middle of Winter. Which was also sad. But I guessed we just weren't the type of couple who went on dates all the time. We worked together, so we saw each other six out of seven days of the week.

I picked up a piece of strawberry shortcake, my favorite dessert.

Gill shook his head again. "You're going to eat dessert first?"

"Why not?" I took a large bite. "Mm, this is really yummy! Thank you, Gilly."

By now he had grown accustomed to me calling him by his disliked nickname. So much so, that if I _didn't_ call him "Gilly", he took a second to recognize I was talking to him.

"Ah, yeah, you're welcome. I made it myself..." Gill sounded unusually self-conscious.

I blinked, then grinned in delight. "You did? Thank you even more!" I leaned over and hugged him tight. "It's better than mine."

"No it's not," he said automatically.

I just laughed.

Gill seemed to relax slightly when I let him go. He wasn't used to being hugged, that's for sure. But he'd probably soon get used to it, with me as his girlfriend. "Oh, I need to ask you..."

I looked at him curiously. "What is it?"

"What type of flower do you like best?"

"Well, that's a hard one. I like a lot of flowers. Why do you ask?"

"The Flower Festival's happening in a few days."

"What? Really? How come I don't know about these festivals until right before they happen?" I demanded crossly.

"Maybe you should get a calendar," Gill replied with a tiny humorous smile.

"Whatever." I tried to act annoyed, but a small grin found its way to my mouth anyways. "I guess if I had to choose, I like cosmoses and pinkcat flowers best." I could practically read Gill's thoughts through his face; _Of course you do. They're pink._ I stuck my tongue out at him. Then I raised an eyebrow. "Still, why'd you ask? Are you planning on getting me some flowers?"

His face immediately brightened. "Uh-"

"Ohh, that's so sweet!" I squealed, hugging him again.

He closed his eyes and huffed a sigh. "So much for a surprise," he muttered.

I laughed. "That's OK."

The rest of our picnic was spent contentedly chatting (well, more of me just babbling) and eating. I was getting quite excited for the Flower Festival, though...

The night before the festival I made sure to let Colleen know she should wake me up if I wasn't awake before eight. But it turned out not to be a problem, since it was on a weekday and I was used to waking up early.

I gulped down breakfast and hurried over to Gill's house so I could wait for him. I practically tackled him as he came outside, making him nearly jump out of his skin. Laughing, I dragged him to Waffle Square, where people were finishing setting up their stands for the festival.

"I remember the Flower Festival in Flower Bud Village. I wonder if this one will be any different," I mused.

Gill shrugged. "Probably."

I took to assisting people who's stands were lagging behind the others. Gill just tagged along, lending a hand when necessary. Soon the festival started. Mayor Hamilton gave a short intro and then the fun began.

At one point I was so busy admiring a certain arrangement of flora that I didn't notice Gill slip away from my side. Right as I started to look around bewilderedly he appeared next to me again, holding a relatively small bouquet of cosmoses, pinkcats, begonias, and lavender.

I swear I felt tears spring to my eyes. "Thank you!" I gasped. "They're so pretty..." I took the flowers and smelled them lovingly.

"It's no problem," Gill said, though he sounded slightly embarrassed. I hugged him. Out of the corner of my vision I saw a few people eyeing us with raised eyebrows, but I didn't tell Gill.

I went around in turn to all the stands, buying at least one item from each. Beside me, Gill looked exasperated as I bought my fourth item, a purple herb. "You're going to run out of money. What do you need herbs for, anyway?"

"Don't worry, I've only brought a limited amount for spending," I said defensively. "And I dunno. I can use them for cooking, maybe? They smell good too..."

He let the subject drop with a shake of his head.

Somewhere along the way, I subtly slipped my hand in Gill's. He seemed to tense up when he felt it, but he got used to it. Happiness rose inside me, even more so than usual.

"Yo, Gill, are we going to do the bug catching game?" a gruff voice came from behind us. We turned around to see Craig from Souffle Farm.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Of course." Gill looked at me. "Want to, Starri?"

"Uh... Bug catching?" I looked at him kind of blankly. "Like with a net?"

"You've never been bug catching before?" Gill sounded surprised. "Not even as a little kid?"

I shook my head solemnly. "Never have."

"All right then. I'll teach you. Come on." This time Gill voluntarily took my hand and led me down the steps and back into town.

Behind me, Craig called out, "Anyone who wants to play the bug catching game follow us!"

We stopped in the Caramel River District. Directly after us came Craig and Kathy and a few other people. Kathy was holding a bunch of nets. She gave two to Gill and me a wink.

"Here." Gill handed me one of the nets. "It's easy and really fun."

_Gill having fun, huh?_ I marveled in my head. I'd never seen him so eager to play a game. There was still so more to him that I didn't know yet...

"Just watch us the first time, okay?" he prompted. I nodded, focused now.

Gill was pretty good, which, I will admit, I was mildly surprised about. But I didn't say anything. He won the first round, then I was admitted into the second. It seemed pretty straightforward; swipe your net at the nearest bug and hope you catch it.

Apparently I was bug-catching-challenged. I didn't catch a single bug during the whole thing. I was so bad, in fact, that Gill was trying to hold back laughter as I wildly swung my net around. You know it's bad when _Gill's_ starting to laugh at you.

At the end of the round I was somewhat despondent. "I'm horrible at this!" I exclaimed. "Maybe you'd be better off playing without me."

"Don't be silly," Gill said after he was done taking deep breaths to get rid of his urge to laugh. "Practice makes perfect. You've never done this before. Try again."

"All right," I agreed dubiously.

The next round it became clear that I was not going to get any better by just waving my net around randomly. I almost hit Kathy in the head twice. Still, I didn't catch a single insect. By the end of the game I was laughing at myself.

Gill coughed a little. "Okay, you are pretty bad," he muttered, trying to resist a smile with his hand over his mouth.

That was it. I burst out laughing. "Have you ever seen someone worse than me?" I sputtered.

He shook his head and allowed his smile to break through. "I don't think so."

A ways away, Craig raised his voice. "It's getting to be near the end of the festival. Let's wrap it up for today!"

Gill and I looked at each other again. "Well, sorry I was no good at the game," I said.

"Don't be sorry. How about next Sunday I'll teach you how to aim with your net?" he suggested.

I smiled. "I'd like that. Thanks, Gilly." I hugged him. "See you tomorrow at work." With that he headed down the path back into Waffle Town. I waited for Kathy so we could walk to the Sundae Inn together.

"Sorry for almost hitting you with my net," I said sheepishly.

Kathy laughed. "That's OK! It was pretty funny, actually."

I grinned a little, scuffling my feet against the path. "Gilly and I are going to get together next Sunday so he can tell me how to swing right."

"Oh, that's so cute! You two are absolutely adorable together!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands together. I blushed.

"But really," she continued as we passed through the arch that marked Waffle Town. "You're a great influence on him. Gill's a lot happier now. I... Wait, no. _Everyone_ really hopes that you guys will work out."

I gave a small smile. "Thanks," I said quietly. "I do too."

Nothing out of the ordinary happened the next day at work, but then, on Thursday, I accidentally slept in for some reason. Trying not to panic, I skipped breakfast and made it to the Town Hall twenty minutes late.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry I'm late!" I burst in through the door. Gill and Elli were caught by surprise; it looked like they had been talking to each other in earnest when I had come in. They stared at me in the way that I had imagined Elli and I had looked when Gill walked in on us talking about his birthday surprise way back in Winter.

Elli was the first to snap out of it. "Hi, Starri. We didn't even notice you were late."

"Well, that works, then..." I laughed hesitantly. I wondered what this was all about. If I didn't know any better, Gill looked like he was embarrassed.

But the day proceeded on as normal. Soon I had almost forgotten about the event that morning.

Then on Friday, I noticed Gill was somewhat quick to finish his chores with me upstairs in the library. Usually he'd hang around until I was done and we'd head downstairs together. I must say I was getting suspicious. And feeling a little abandoned. I could hear his and Mayor Hamilton and Elli's muffled voices from where I was stuck sorting books. Finally I couldn't help it and snuck over to the top of the staircase to try and listen in on them. I felt so sneaky, but I needed to know what was so important as to leave me out!

I couldn't make out most of what they were saying since they had taken the precaution to move to the other side of the room, but Elli and Hamilton sounded pretty excited, and Gill sounded... nervous? I couldn't be sure, because I couldn't say I'd ever seen him anxious very much.

After a minute or two I had to give up eavesdropping, partly because I started getting bored and partly because my efforts were turning up fruitless anyways. I also needed to get a move on with those books...

I meant to ask why Gill had left me up in the library in such a hurry, but it slipped my mind when I went back downstairs and before I knew it it was closing time.

When I went to bed, I started to get worried that the same thing would happen the next day with Gill leaving me to talk with Elli and Hamilton, but it turned out I didn't need to get worked up over it. Saturday seemed to turn back to being a completely average day, the only point of interest being talking about Gill helping me learn how to use a bug-catching net properly. But I couldn't help and notice that faint color came to Gill's cheeks every time I mentioned it. I began to wonder if maybe his conversations with Elli and Mayor Hamilton had something to do with Sunday. I couldn't really see why they would be, though.

So Sunday came, and at eleven o'clock I was at Gill's house waiting for him just as I was on the morning of the Flower Festival. I faintly detected that he seemed a tiny bit skittish, but I didn't pay much attention to that. I was too busy having fun.

"I think part of your problem is that your not looking at what you're trying to get," Gill said. "You need to focus on a single target."

I nodded, grinning in embarrassment. "Yeah, I just kinda see bugs and then swing."

He nodded too, then instructed me to watch him. Again, I was somewhat baffled by how seriously he took bug-catching. It never struck me as something he'd be into. But, I'd been wrong before.

"Okay, now you try," Gill encouraged after he was done snatching up a grasshopper and letting it go again.

Biting my lip, I gripped my net and set my sights on at pretty white butterfly resting on a daisy. Slowly I crept up on it, feeling slightly ridiculous but trying not to mind since only Gill was watching. When I was less than a foot away, I swiped my net across the daisy. Holding it up to the sun, my mouth opened in delight as I saw the butterfly inside.

"Gilly! I did it!" I cheered in triumph.

Smiling, he came over to see my catch. "Good job," he praised me, and it made me feel so happy I just had to hug him. Then we carefully set to letting it go without hurting it.

We spent a while longer catching bugs and having a good time. It was around four when I started getting a little tired.

"Let's take a break," Gill suggested.

"Oh, okay," I agreed somewhat hastily, wondering if he could tell I was getting worn out. I hoped not.

He gestured for me to sit down on the small bench that was near the entrance to the Caramel River District. I obeyed, eyeing him curiously. He waited a moment before revealing two pieces of strawberry shortcake. "I made some more since last time," he said sheepishly.

I laughed in delight. "You're so sweet!" Gill gave a hesitant smile and sat down next to me, handing me a piece of the rich cake. I was quiet as I munched on my piece, and he didn't attempt to make any conversation. My mind started wandering back to the curiosity of Gill liking this game that I would have assumed he viewed as "childish" like so many other fun things. Then again, he said _I_ was childish, but still...

"Why do you like bug-catching so much?" I finally couldn't help but ask.

Gill tilted his head questioningly. "Why wouldn't I?"

"It just doesn't... seem like something you'd like," I admitted.

He gave a half-smile, seemingly now understanding my mild confusion. "Well, I used to play it a lot when I was little... I guess I just never got tired of it."

"Who'd you play it with?"

"By myself, mostly..." He'd meant to end the conversation there, but I still looked at him expectantly. He hadn't answered my question. He gave me a slightly annoyed look, then continued. "My mom taught me how."

I blinked. "So you remember _something_ about her!"

"Yeah... She was a schoolteacher. She loved kids' enthusiasm and enjoyed teaching them. She was a great person." There was a hint of longing in his voice.

I frowned sadly. "I'm sorry... I wish I could have met her." _That must be one of the reasons why he'd be the teacher if there was school!_ I realized, but decided against saying it aloud. Sighing, I rested my head on his shoulder, wanting to comfort him but not knowing how.

"It's been such a long time, I'm all right now," he said, probably guessing my thoughts. I was somewhat surprised that he didn't get defensive and say something insensitive instead, which I know he would have done before we knew each other very well. "I have other people to fill in the gaps."

I could feel those intense blue eyes on me. I lifted my head slightly so I could glance at him with upturned eyebrows. He smiled, just enough so I got that fluttering feeling associated with having a crush.

But... Now that I thought about it, I got the feeling that this was starting to turn into something even more. Though maybe it already had...? I wasn't sure. Oh, now I was just confusing myself!

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Gill's hand hover by his pocket for a moment, and he swallowed in a nervous gesture, but then he decided against doing whatever he had been thinking about, and instead changed the subject. "Starri, when did you start... you know... to think of me as more than a friend?" he said, cheeks reddening.

I smiled, also embarrassed but not ashamed. "Well, let me remember... I think, at Thanksgiving. That's when I admitted it to myself, anyways," I added, laughing a bit.

"Oh."

I wasn't sure if the tone he was using was good or bad. I hoped I hadn't offended him or something! "Wh-When did you start thinking of me that way?" I asked in return, trying to keep the conversation going.

Now he was very noticeably blushing. It was pretty cute, actually. I resisted the urge to giggle. "Um, before you did, actually... About a week after my birthday. After you and Elli did the party thing for me."

"Wow, really?" I said before I could stop myself, caught by surprise. My cheeks were likely pink too. I clapped my hand over my mouth, but when Gill and I exchanged glances we started laughing. Yes, _both _of us. I felt a rush of happiness that I had gotten to the point where Gill could laugh openly in front of me. It was nice to hear him do so, since he always seemed so stiff and serious all the time. It was also a good tension breaker. Things had been starting to get awkward.

After the chuckling died down, which didn't take long, Gill took up the talk again. "Yeah. That's why, if you noticed..." He faltered, seeming to become embarrassed again. "When I heard about you and Chase, and then you and Luke..."

I blinked. "Oh, that's right. Yes, I did kind of notice that you seemed... interested, when you found out about that." I had meant to use "jealous" instead of "interested", but that sounded rude.

"No, I was jealous. I admit it," he immediately corrected me as if reading my thoughts.

I was surprised yet again to hear him opening up so freely.

"To tell you the truth, it was kind of painful to hear about that... Even now, really, I just want you all to myself. But that's really selfish of me. You didn't even know I, uh, 'liked' you."

I had to smother some laughter. "To tell _you_ the truth, I was kind of freaking out when Luke and I went to the Sundae Inn, 'cause I thought you might've been there!" I couldn't believe I was really telling him that, but it felt better to say it aloud. Also, it only seemed fair. Gill was admitting so much to me.

He gave a smile, but I couldn't tell what emotion it held. Then he took a deep breath, seemed to steel himself, and reached down to his pocket, his hand staying there. I tilted my head curiously at him.

"So, the reason I started this conversation..." His voice kind of caught in his throat. "I need to ask... um... Ah, great, I have no idea how I'm going to do this..." Gill's cheeks were very pink. Almost his whole face was. I wondered what could've made him so embarrassed, but I knew it must've been big, because I found my heart starting to speed up. He took one more deep breath, then determinedly got out what he meant to say.

"Starri, I love you. Will you accept this?"

Out from his pocket, he pulled a blue feather. I gasped in shock, clapped my hands over my mouth, and felt tears spring to my eyes and heat rush to my face. Gill was asking me to marry him? He was asking me to _marry _him!

But I didn't have to think a second about my answer. After wiping a happy tear from my face, I grinned. "Of course I will. I love you too, Gilly." I leaned forward and gave him a kiss.

When I took the feather from him with trembling hands, I noticed his hands were slightly shaky as well. I beamed at him, my smile mixed with sheer joy, amusement, and astonishment. Gill looked equally happy, but overall plain relieved.

We didn't need to say anything else for the rest of our outing. He walked me home and gave me another kiss before night. It took all I had not to blurt out that we were going to get married to everyone at the Inn, since Gill and I had some unspoken mutual agreement to tell his father and Elli first.

We successfully kept our new engagement a secret until the next morning, at work. Gill had asked his dad to come early, so we could break the news to both the employees at the Town Hall at the same time. Neither of them seemed very surprised, though... Then Gill explained to me why he had been ditching me in the library the past few days. He had been talking to them about proposing!

Still, Elli and Mayor Hamilton were both ecstatic. Gill had trouble trying to calm everyone, including me, down so we could get down to business of arranging the date and so forth. All that boring stuff.

Finally, we had everything organized. The date would be Summer first. I teased Gill, "Do you really not like Summer much anymore?" He only rolled his eyes in reply.

"Man, the preparations before the ceremony are hectic, aren't they?" he asked me at one point. I just grinned, as I had been ever since we told Elli and Hamilton that we were fiancés now.

He narrowed his eyebrows at me. "Stop grinning. Get a hold of yourself."

I gave him a disappointed frown. "But why should I? I'm so happy!"

His expression then told me he didn't like to see me frown. I grinned again, then gave a small hop and hugged him. "I just love you so much!"

Gill had to smile at that, and he gave a small hug back before returning to his old no-nonsense self.

Most of the work day wasn't spent working, but making sure we had everything accounted for in our plans for the wedding even though it was to take place in about two weeks. We had plenty of time.

Part way through discussing what my wedding gown would be with Elli, a realization hit me. "Oh my gosh, I need to tell my parents," I stated out of the blue, wide-eyed.

Elli's eyes widened too. "You do! What will they think?"

"I'm sure they'll be happy..." I said, partly reassuring myself. "I've told them all about Gilly in my letters." Plus, my parents were loving people at heart. They would bless Gill and me. Most likely.

"What? I heard my name." Gill came over, his expression inquiring.

"I need to tell my parents," I repeated.

"Oh. Right," he said after a moment. I think he didn't want to admit he had forgotten I even had parents. That was all right, though. They didn't live here. Sometimes I even almost forgot I had parents too.

"Maybe... could I call them? Right now?" I had the urge to let them know right then. Especially when I still had my mind on it. It wouldn't be pretty if I _forgot_ to tell my parents I was getting married.

"Of course you can!" Elli immediately said.

Drawing in an anxious breath, I picked up the phone and dialed my parents. It was the first time I had called them on the phone since I had gotten to Waffle Island, partly because my room at the Sundae Inn had no telephone for me to use. It would be good to hear their voices again.

My mother screamed (in excitement, not horror; don't worry) when I told her. I winced and cast a glance over at Gill to see him staring at me with upturned eyebrows. He must've heard that. I tried not to laugh.

"James!" Mom yelled into the background. She was answered by a mumble that I couldn't make out. I smiled as I imagined my father probably reading a newspaper and not really paying attention to her. "James, listen to me! Our daughter's getting married!"

That got an audible reply out of him. "What?"

I couldn't help it. A hysterical giggle escaped me.

"Who is it? Who's going to be our son-in-law?" Mom continued without giving me a chance to speak. "Oh, I know! It's... that one boy, who you always talk about in your letters, with the funny name... Gill!"

My face a little red, I nodded even though she couldn't see me. "Yes, it's Gill." Covering the receiver for a moment, I told Gill in a harsh whisper, "My mom thinks your name is funny!"

His face turned colored too. "Thanks," he grumbled.

I grinned and went back to talking with my mother. "The wedding's going to be on Summer first. I'd... we'd both like it if you and Dad came."

"What are you, crazy? What kind of mother would I be if I missed my only child's wedding?" She sounded offended. "Of course we'll come. Whether we were invited or not, in fact."

I laughed some more as I heard my dad in the background, closer now, asking if he could talk to me. Even though he was trying to be "civilized", I could hear a jittery and impatient undertone to his voice.

"Well, your father's begging to talk to you," Mom said begrudgingly. "I'm being forced to give up the phone."

"Nobody's forcing you, Melissa," I heard my dad's exasperated voice before he was actually talking to me.

I told him the details and other stuff going on besides my engagement, then Dad made a request that honestly made me a little nervous.

"May I speak to Gill?"

My eyes widened and I looked over at my fiancé, who returned my look with a puzzled expression. "What?" he mouthed.

I covered the receiver again. "My dad wants to talk to you."

"O-Oh. Okay..." Gill suddenly looked nervous too.

"Yeah, sure Dad, here he is." I handed the phone to Gill. He swallowed before he lifted it to his ear.

I skittered over to Elli, where we started chittering excitedly. I didn't really hear what Gill was exchanging with my father, but from his expressions it seemed nothing bad was taking place. Whatever "bad" was supposed to mean.

Within five minutes Gill was handing the telephone back to me, his eyes revealing that he was slightly relieved. "Well, your dad seems nice," he offered. I rolled my eyes and grinned at him before answering my mother's voice on the other end now. I began to say my goodbyes to my parents. They promised they'd be at Waffle Island by the end of the week. Sooner than I had expected, but I didn't mind. It would give them a chance to meet and get to know Gill. And Mayor Hamilton, for that matter, who was going to be my father-in-law... Whoa.

After the whole exchange with my parents was done and over with, all that was left to do for the day was devise the invitations. Gill and I sat down at one of the desks and set to work, Elli and Hamilton popping over to suggest an idea or two once in a while. It really wasn't that big of a deal, the invites; just say what day and time the wedding was. I think they just wanted an excuse to talk to us again.

Work ended quickly that day. Gill walked me to the Inn.

"You know, we should really think of getting a house for ourselves," I realized. Holy cow. Gill and I would not only be married, but _living together!_ Jeez, so much would be so strange, in so little time, too...

He blinked, just noticing this factor too. "You're right."

I tilted my head. "Well, we can worry about that later. Right now, let's enjoy knowing that we're going to be together _forever_." With a grin, I kissed him and said goodnight, then he was heading back to his house.

Inside, I saw Maya, staring at me. She had seen that kiss.

No point in keeping a secret any longer, whether Gill liked it or not. I didn't think he'd mind, anyways. I told Maya to call down everyone in the building so I could tell them the news.

Everyone was delighted. I went to bed that night with a smile on my face. The future was looking bright.


End file.
